Galaxy Quest
by JolinarJackson
Summary: Years ago, the actors of the now cancelled sci-fi show Galaxy Quest were heroes. Now they can't escape the shadow of the roles they played. When an alien race mistakes them for real heroes, they find themselves in a fight that goes way over their heads. To survive, they have to overcome their differences and conflicts of the past, but pride is hard to swallow.
1. Chapter 1

**Galaxy Quest**

 _Word Count: ~_ 37.000

 _Summary:_ Eight years ago, the actors of the popular sci-fi show _Galaxy Quest_ were heroes – these days, they can't escape the shadow of the roles they played, even though the show has been cancelled. When an alien race mistakes them for real heroes fighting evil and seeks their help, they quickly find themselves in a fight that goes way over their heads. To survive, they have to overcome their differences and conflicts of the past, but pride is something that's very hard to swallow ...

 _Characters:_ Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, John Hart, Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, Mathasar, Sarris, Laliari, Teb, Eugene Jones, Carys, Annie, Lahnk, OCs

 _Pairing:_ Ianto/John Hart, Jack/Ianto, Tosh/Owen, Gwen/Rhys

 _Rating:_ PG-13

 _Warnings:_ Torture, mention of partner betrayal, language

 _Author's Note:_ Written for reel_torchwood. I love this trashy, brilliant little movie so, so much and the idea to do a _Torchwood_ version has been floating around my head for ages. Now, I actually did it!

 _Beta:_ danian and czarinakitty, who did a great job under time pressure. Thank you both!

 _Disclaimer:_ I'm not making money with this fanfic. The tv show _Torchwood_ as well as the movie _Galaxy Quest_ and the characters appearing within it belong to their producers and creators. Any similarities to living or dead persons are purely coincidental and not intended.

This is a work of fiction. No similarities to the private or public lives of the Torchwood actors are intended, even though there are references to the fictional characters they played in other productions.

xxx

 _Never Give Up. Never Surrender._

 **1.**

Adenydd checked her appearance in her compact mirror, tucking loose strands of blonde hair behind her ears and reapplying her lipstick.

"Ready to get this over with, sweetheart?" her camera man David asked and she rolled her eyes, positioning herself in a way that enabled David to catch the entrance to the Millennium Centre behind her, in front of which a line of people had formed.

"Do all the newbies have to do such shitty jobs?"

"Don't complain. You're having more fun than Howel."

Adenydd tucked the mirror and lipstick into her coat pocket. "What's he doing today, then?"

"A piece about the sheep population in the Brecon Beacons."

Adenydd smirked. "Can't decide what's worse, to be honest: to be surrounded by sheep all day or to be surrounded by sci-fi geeks."

David winked at her and settled his camera on his broad shoulder, the faded sticker with the logo of the BBC Cymru News reminding Adenydd why she did this – to climb the ladder and make the news. Good news, important news. Not just for Wales, but the whole of England, maybe even the world. She sighed. It looked like she had to wade through the fluffy fillers first to get some attention. David smirked, maybe having the same thoughts. "Let's get this show on the road. First one back gets three minutes on the evening news."

Adenydd cleared her throat and turned a bit away from Cardiff bay to avoid the cold February breeze. "Okay, then," she said.

"Whenever you're ready," David replied.

Adenydd put on an excited smile and raised the microphone to her lips before she started. "The spaceship _NSEA Torchwood_ spent eight years ridding the Union of Worlds from its dictators," she said. "Led by its charismatic Captain Peter Quincy Taggart and his brave second-in-command Dr. Lazarus, the core crew also consisted of the young genius navigator and gunner Laredo, the technician Sergeant Chen and of course beautiful Lt. Tawny Madison." She took a step to the side so that the viewer would be able to see the huge banner reading _Galaxy Quest Convention 2014_ that had been hung over the entrance doors of the Millennium Centre. "Of course, we all know that the _NSEA Torchwood_ only existed on the screen. We all know that it's only part of the popular sci-fi-show _Galaxy Quest_ which was cancelled to the dismay of its many, many fans five years ago." She put on a fond smile, looking at the fans milling about, entering eagerly or sitting on the stairs with laptops and smart phones in their hands. "And yet, the popularity hasn't abated, as proven by today's _Galaxy Quest_ Convention taking place here in Cardiff. 2000 tickets have been sold already and it seems that more fans will arrive within the next hours to see the whole main cast of the show, united once again. Not only have the organizers managed to get Toshiko Sato, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones here, but Owen Harper will be joining as well and – even better – the show's star Jack Harkness has confirmed his participation." Adenydd nodded at the camera. "Let's step inside the madness of fandom and see what the convention has to offer while the show's stars are eagerly getting ready to face their fans at this very moment."

xxx

"I fucking hate conventions," Owen Harper said, staring into the mirror in dismay. The backstage room they had been assigned was more of a store room, but quiet, tucked away from the fans milling about the convention centre … and – thankfully – it had a door. Gwen guessed that it wouldn't take much longer until Owen had his mandatory convention melt-down and no fan should have to see this. Actually, she wished she didn't have to see this. So she raised the bridal magazine in her hands higher to block out anything but the beautiful dresses.

Toshiko, huddled comfortably into a chair next to her, hummed non-committedly, focussed on her crossword puzzle. Ianto was staring at the wall. He'd tucked his legs up to his chest, cowering in the only really comfortable armchair in the room. He'd been quiet and distracted since he'd arrived. Gwen had asked him what was wrong but had got no answer.

In fact, Ianto hadn't spoken at all, just arrived, changed into his costume and folded himself into the chair.

The sound of cheering and clapping floated in from the main room where they would greet the fans in a few minutes. Gwen dared to take a peek at Owen. He was sitting miserably on his chair, staring at his image in the mirror. Perhaps a distraction would do him good. "Sounds like a lot of people have come," she said.

Tosh hummed again.

Owen groaned and buried his hands in his short dark hair, pulling on it in frustration. "I fucking hate saying the stupid catchphrase!"

Gwen rolled her eyes and brushed a few crumbs of the roll she'd had for lunch from her uniform – a tight-fitting, grey jumpsuit with dark-blue lines on the shoulders and down the arms –, tugging on the zip self-consciously to try and reduce her cleavage. It probably wasn't that bad, really, but fact was that Tosh's jumpsuit zipped up as high as she wanted, while Gwen's had been designed to show off more. A bitter reminder of what her role in the show actually had been about. Owen and Ianto were wearing their jumpsuits as well. While Ianto's was blue and grey like Gwen's, Owen's was yellow and grey and Tosh's combination was red and grey. Gwen had never asked what the colours meant, but it probably had something to do with their roles on the ship. It didn't matter. What mattered was that hers was tighter than anyone else's – except maybe Ianto's.

She was distracted from her sullen thoughts by the door opening. Their agent, John Hart, entered. He was wearing his black leather jacket over a red jumper today, the dark-blonde hair styled carefully. Gwen allowed herself a lazy, stray thought about the perfectly fitting, dark jeans he was wearing and then turned back to her bridal magazine. John was attractive, no doubt about that. Not as attractive as Jack, whose perfect features, bright blue eyes and easy grin could get crowds of women – and men – fawning in an instant, but still handsome. He also had better manners than Jack and more common sense. It was a bit unbelievable that the two of them were best friends, really, their personalities differed so much. Then again, they _had_ things in common ...

Gwen's eyes slid to Ianto, who was – surprisingly – ignoring John's presence completely.

John seemed to notice that as well and huffed a breath. "Still no sign?" he asked, looking at Gwen pointedly.

She shook her head, frowning in confusion. Usually, general questions from John were directed at Ianto. Usually, Ianto acknowledged John with at least a warm smile. At least ever since the two of them had officially announced that they were couple. Now, she was starting to see why Ianto's mood could be off.

John cursed. "I didn't hear from him."

Owen scoffed. "He's always late."

"Yes," John snapped, unusually short-tempered, "but you're on in ten minutes!" He left the room and slammed the door shut.

Gwen straightened in her seat. "Wow, what's wrong with _him_?"

Ianto didn't react in any way, instead staring at his mobile.

Gwen prompted, "Ianto?"

"It's none of your business," he answered haughtily. Gwen bit her lip and went back to her magazine, but somehow, she seemed to have struck a nerve, because Ianto suddenly snapped, "Now, where the hell is he? An hour and a half late. An hour and a half!"

Tosh didn't look up from her crossword puzzle, only tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. "He's always late."

"It's typical," Ianto said. "He thinks he can do anything just because he was the star of the show." He swallowed visibly and added a bit softer, "And did you hear? He booked another appearance without us."

That got him Gwen's undivided attention. She slapped her magazine closed. "You're joking," she said. "We agreed."

"He doesn't care," Ianto replied.

Tosh finally looked up, her dark eyes finding Ianto while she shook her head. "John is the agent for all of us. Why would he let Jack do stuff like that without informing us?"

Gwen sometimes wished she'd kept Tosh's naivety. There was no doubt in her mind that John would do anything for Jack. It was an open secret that the both of them had once had a bit of a fling. It had meant way more to John than to Jack and apparently, he'd never really got over it. Sometimes, Gwen thought that John and Ianto's relationship was more about both of them getting over being dumped by Jack than anything else. "When did you hear about it?" she asked Ianto.

"Yesterday, while we were ..." He bit his lip, his blue eyes dulling, and ducked his head. "We had a fight."

Owen groaned. "Oh, bloody hell!" He looked at Ianto's reflection in his mirror. "Are you breaking up?"

"No," Ianto answered quietly. "We already did that weeks ago."

It was quiet for a long moment, then Tosh said, "I'm so sorry, Ianto."

Gwen nodded. "Yeah, me too."

Owen just scoffed. "Well done, Ianto!"

"Owen!" Gwen snapped.

Owen's dark eyes focussed on her reflection. "John's our agent. The two of them shagging was a bad idea from the start. It's only going to get worse now." He looked himself in the eyes and sighed. "Oh God! How did I come to this?"

Tosh rolled her eyes at Gwen. "There we go," she muttered.

Owen didn't pay her any mind. "I was offered a companion role on _Doctor Who_." Gwen mouthed along with him, already knowing what he was going to say – it was always the same. "I could have been bloody Dr. Watson on bloody _Sherlock_! I was an _actor_ once, damn it. Now look at me." He leaned back, staring at himself intently, tugging on the collar of the lab coat he wore over the jumpsuit. "Look at me! This show ruined any credibility I ever had because of that stupid … bastard! I can't go out there and I won't say that stupid line one more time. I can't ... and I won't!"

Gwen had heard enough. "Well, Owen, at least you had a _part_. Okay?" She got up from the chair. "You had a character people loved! I mean, my last radio interview was one minute long and it was all about my breasts and how they fit into my suit! No one even bothered to ask me what I _did_ on the show!"

Silence reigned for a moment and Gwen was shocked to see the pondering look on Tosh's face when she replied, "You had the ... wait, wait! I'll think of it."

Gwen closed her eyes and sighed in resignation. "I repeated the computer, Tosh." She looked at Owen. "It's not our fault that you didn't choose that _Doctor Who_ role over _Galaxy Quest_ and I happen to know that your _Sherlock_ casting went down the drain because you were drunk, Owen, and I'm sorry to say but the bloke they picked is better than you! But unlike me, you played a real character with real emotions and a real story line. And Tosh played a woman who was a smarter technician than any man. Even Ianto had a better role!"

Ianto's eyebrows rose. "Excuse me?"

"You were the 18-year-old wunderkind. Who the hell doesn't want to be the 18-year-old wunderkind?"

"If the show hadn't been cancelled, they would have killed me by electrocution in series four! How stupid is that?"

"Your death would have saved our lives! You would have been a bloody hero!"

"Yeah," Ianto said sarcastically. "Because that death would have been totally necessary for the plot! It couldn't have been any red-shirt? I mean, we all know what happened there, don't we, Gwen?"

She put her hands on her hips. "Oh, please, I certainly don't think that Jack's the best colleague ever born, but he wouldn't have-"

"Wouldn't he?" Ianto interrupted her. "Are you sure?"

Before anyone could say anything else, the door opened and Jack Harkness strolled in. "Hello, everyone!" he said with a big grin. "Your Captain is on deck!"

The silence that followed was stifling. Nobody answered or returned Jack's smile, causing his grin to wilt a little.

He cleared his throat and brushed one hand through his dark hair, making it stick up stylishly. "Wow, who died?" He looked at Owen. "Am I too late for the obligatory panic attack?"

Owen groaned and buried his face in his hands.

Jack winked at him. "Apparently not." He looked around. Gwen was careful not to meet his eyes. None of them would repeat in front of Jack what had just been discussed. None of them would continue the fight with him in the room. They all fought every time they were together, but they also made up again. It was different with Jack, he'd stopped being a real part of their group a long time ago. The sad thing was that he didn't seem to realize that. He looked at Tosh. "Okay, what did I do?"

Out of all of them, Tosh was the only one who still believed in Jack. The two of them had a connection, they had clicked from day one. Gwen knew that she felt uncomfortable in situations like these, always trying to be the peace-keeper, so she helped her out by drawing Jack's focus on herself. "We know, Jack. We know about the job you took … without including us."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "So?"

Gwen scoffed. "Unbelievable!"

Ianto got up from his chair. "Bastard!"

Jack raised his hands. "Listen, it's not a big deal. These people put a little set in their basement, is all. I'm there about an hour. It's nothing." When Ianto shook his head and turned away, Jack looked at Gwen. "They wanted the Captain."

Owen got up from his chair, grabbing his coat. "That's it! I'm gone."

Jack grabbed Owen's arm when he tried to get past him. "Owen, wait a minute." He walked him back towards his chair. "Come on."

Owen shook him off angrily. "You stole all my best lines! You cut me out of episode two entirely!"

"And still you will go out there and smile and wave and make the fans happy!"

"I won't! And nothing you can say will make me!"

Jack stared him in the eyes and then, very slowly, he said, "You need the money."

Owen gaped at him for a long moment, then he balled up his coat and threw it into a corner. "Fuck you!" He brushed his hands through his hair, breathing deeply. "But I won't say that stupid catchphrase."

"You don't have to," Jack replied. "I'm sure they have screens in there and will show you saying it on the show."

Owen glared at him. "I hate you."

"Come on," Jack said with a grin. "You don't."

The door opened again and John poked his head in. When he saw Jack, he breathed a sigh of relief. "You're late."

"Sorry," Jack replied, not sounding like he was.

John stepped inside fully. "You're all up in five minutes. Q&A first, then autographs and pictures. Let's get moving towards the stage." He held the door open and Tosh walked through, leaving her crossword puzzle behind. Owen gave Jack one last glare and followed her. Gwen lingered one moment longer, saw Jack intercept Ianto on his way to the door and say something to him, too softly to hear. Ianto just glared at him and left, not looking at John. "Two more minutes, Jack," John said. "Get your uniform on." He ushered Gwen outside and pointed down the hallway. "Straight through there. I'm going to make sure he's not late again."

"John," Gwen said, taking his hand. "I'm sorry to hear about you and Ianto."

John bit his lip and shrugged. "I was a consolation prize from the start."

"No, you weren't," she replied, squeezing his hand. "Believe me … what you did for him … he really cares for you."

John ducked his head. "Well, he might care for me, but I _love_ him."

"Why did you break up?"

John looked as if he was not sure whether he should tell her, but then he just sighed resignedly and said, "I asked him to marry me."

"He said no," Gwen assumed.

"Which wouldn't have been that big of a problem, if he hadn't tagged on that he's still in love with Jack." He swallowed. "We shouted at each other, we cried and then we decided to take a break. We broke up for good yesterday."

"He's just scared," Gwen said.

John smiled bitterly. "Well, that's the problem. I'm getting tired of him being scared."

"Miss Cooper?" someone said and she saw that a young woman wearing a shirt with the word _Staff_ printed on the breast pocket was standing next to them. "You're on in a minute."

Gwen nodded and followed her. When she glanced back at John, she saw him stare at the floor, his hands on his hips, breathing deeply. She swallowed. _'What a mess,'_ she thought.

 _'It's your mess, too,'_ her conscience replied and she felt sick. She focussed on the cheering fans, on the lights and the stage and the questions. It didn't really help, but it made things more bearable for a little while.


	2. Chapter 2

**2.**

Several hours later – after all autographs had been given and all question had been answered –, Jack startled when he hit the light switch in the changing room and Ianto was sitting in the armchair, staring at him. Jack acknowledged him with a short nod and then went to gather his things, pulling his leather jacket on over his uniform. With Ianto present, he didn't really want to get changed. Silences between them had become so toxic. However, he couldn't help but ask, "Everyone else gone?"

"Yes." Ianto's voice was cool and controlled.

"And you're staying?"

"I'm waiting for John."

"I thought you had broken up," Jack said, not able to keep a little glee out of his voice.

There was a pause, a hesitation, before Ianto replied, "We still share a house."

"Right," Jack said with a snort. "The house in the countryside."

"There's nothing wrong with the countryside."

Jack looked at him, raising his eyebrows. "The cannibals in movies live in the countryside."

"Typical," Ianto muttered, ducking his head to check his mobile.

Jack felt angry all of a sudden. "What?"

Ianto raised his head and his blue eyes focussed on him. "You don't see things how they really are, Jack. That's the reason I left you."

"And here I thought I left you."

Ianto scoffed. "No, you ruined us. I left you."

"To shag John."

"It's more than that."

"Is it, though? For John, yes, I have no doubt, but for you?"

"Fuck you, Jack," Ianto answered calmly. He got up and grabbed his bag, glaring at Jack. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

Jack chuckled and was gratified to see Ianto pause with his hand on the door handle. "You know what's funny?" Jack asked with a bitter smile. "How you still play the victim in all this."

Ianto's shoulders tensed and then he let out a breath, before taking it in again. "And do _you_ know what's funny?" he replied slowly, not turning around to face him. "All those fans cheering and people telling you you're great and you smiling into every camera you can, trying to get in a word on everything just so that you get noticed … do you ever notice that people can't stand you? Do you ever notice that _we_ can't stand you?" With that, he left.

Jack sank into the nearest chair, rubbing a hand down his face. He had to admit that Ianto's words had found their mark, the tiny little spot in him that made him wonder sometimes … about his life, his popularity, his influence. It was true that he had what many people wanted: he earned good money, had invested cleverly, had a house and an expensive car and men as well as women lining up to sleep with him. What he didn't have anymore was the closeness to the people he'd once considered family. What he didn't have was Ianto.

What he didn't have were the things he'd cherished most … still did.

He wished he'd handled things differently back then, but it was too late now, and he'd never been good at admitting his mistakes openly.

So he didn't.

xxx

When Jack left the changing room five minutes later, Ianto was gone. There was no sign of John, either. Just staff members from the convention cleaning up, giving him distracted smiles and little waves while he passed them on his way to the parking garage. Despite their chatter and the soft music coming over the sound system to keep them company, it seemed eerily quiet somehow. Jack had spent the day surrounded by fans – applauding, asking questions, laughing, screaming … it was strange to get used to the quiet again.

He thought that all fans had left and was just about to take the stairs down to the garage when he was stopped by an eager young voice calling out, "Captain!"

He stopped, hesitated – tempted to just go on –, but then he realized that he wouldn't be able to do that. He could live with giving another few autographs, taking another picture. He braced himself with a wide smile and turned around. "Yes?"

The young man and his friends – two girls and another boy – were wearing _Galaxy Quest_ uniforms, clearly designating the boy who'd called out as the Captain of the _NSEA Torchwood_ and his friends as Madison, Laredo and Chen. The young man seemed surprised for a moment about having been able to catch Jack's attention, but then he said, "Captain, I was wondering if you could help settle a dispute my crew and I seem to be having. If you remember, in 'The Quasar Dilemma' ..."

Jack sighed, losing track of the conversation. The kid was holding blueprints and Jack felt a complicated question and a headache coming on. "Another time, all right?" He turned away, heading for the exit.

The kid wasn't easy to shake off, though. "But, Captain-"

"Another time," Jack interrupted him. "Tweet me!"

With that, he opened the door and left, hearing the kid saying to his friends, "I hadn't even gotten to the relevant conundrum."

Jack felt slightly guilty, but he really couldn't stand another minute of pretending to be Taggart. He loved that role dearly, but the exchange with Ianto had brought back all the bad memories he didn't want and he just couldn't stay there even one minute longer, pretending to be somebody he wasn't.

It was too much sometimes.

Too much when he knew who he really was. Because of course he knew that his friends were keeping their distance. He wondered vaguely when his life had become such a mess, but the question was rhetorical at best. It didn't really matter who had started it – the fight between Jack and Ianto –, Jack was the one who'd ended it, who'd made it public, who'd done the unforgivable. He'd carelessly thrown everything away and then things had only got worse.

He found his black SUV where he'd parked it and unlocked the door by remote. The clicking of the locks was loud in the otherwise quiet area. He opened the boot and threw his bag in and was just about to walk around to get in when he almost ran into a short man. "Oops!" Jack said, painting on yet another grin he didn't feel. "Didn't hear you coming." He noticed two others hovering close to the young man – another man and a woman. He winked at them. "Or your friends."

"Captain," the man said earnestly, as if in greeting. He and his friends were wearing silver jumpsuits and all of them had the same black, short hair as well as pale, almost silvery skin. They looked like siblings, almost, their appearance being so similar.

Jack gathered up the last of his patience. "Nice cosplay! So, you caught me, you get a picture for free."

"Captain," the short man said again, his tone just as serious. "I must speak to you. It is a matter of supreme importance. We are Thermians from the Klatu Nebula, and we need your help."

"Uh …," Jack said and frowned. He'd memorized pretty much every episode of _Galaxy Quest_. Fans loved it … and he missed it. Thermians, though, were new to him and he was pretty sure that he didn't remember any alien on the show ever looking like they did. Then it hit him and his eyes widened. "Oh! Is this about that gig tomorrow? Just hammer out the details with my agent and make sure there's a limousine at my house. Last time I did one of these gigs, they shoved me in the back of a Toyota. And keep quiet about this, yeah?"

The short man looked confused when Jack patted his shoulder and walked towards the driver's side.

"See you tomorrow!" Jack said, got into the SUV and drove off before the fans could say anything.

xxx

Gwen exited the bathroom in her comfortable pyjamas and stopped in the door to the living room adjoining a small kitchen niche. Their flat wasn't big, but comfy and exactly what they needed. She watched Rhys for a moment. He was lounging on the couch with a bottle of beer in one hand and the remote control in the other, watching the telly. The faint scent of their take-out dinner hung in the air and Gwen decided that she didn't need more than this man on her couch and this flat and the children's books she wrote.

This was perfect.

She joined Rhys on the couch, cuddling up to him and feeling his arm wrap around her shoulders. They kissed softly, until Rhys pulled back a bit. His blue eyes widened comically and his round face broke out into a grin when he said with the high voice of an overly excited fangirl, "Miss Cooper, in episode 15, 'Mist of Delos 5', I got the feeling that you and the Captain kind of had a thing. Did you?"

Gwen laughed. She settled in against Rhys's body, pulling he afghan over them both. "No. The Captain and I never had a thing."

Rhys kissed her forehead. "Was it very awful?"

"It never is, actually," she answered, her eyes focussed on the news. "It's just a bit … sad."

He made a humming noise of understanding and was quiet for a long moment. "Did you, though?" he asked softly and when Gwen looked up at him, his eyes were suddenly serious.

"What?" she asked.

"Have a thing with the Captain."

Gwen huffed a breath. "No," she said. "I mean ..." She sighed. "There was that … infatuation. It's hard not to have a crush on Jack, you know," she explained.

Rhys shrugged non-committedly.

Gwen felt the sudden urge to be absolutely honest. She was going to marry him after all and knowing Jack, he would blurt it out in front of Rhys one day anyway. "And we had sex – one time." When Rhys tensed, she shook her head sadly, stroking her hand up and down his flank. "The worst mistake I ever made."

He looked down at her and Gwen pushed up a bit to kiss him again.

xxx

"Here's to us," Tosh said, raising her pint. Owen raised his in return and they clinked glasses. The overcrowded pub was loud, but they had their own little corner tucked away from everyone else. They didn't get recognized often these days, since the show had been cancelled five years already, but they'd had enough attention for today. Tosh sipped on her beer and sighed deeply. "Do you miss it sometimes?"

"What?" Owen asked with a bitter grimace, playing with some drops of water on the wooden table. "Saying my catchphrase every episode? No, not at all."

"It wasn't that bad a catchphrase," Tosh replied.

Owen snorted. "'I may be dead, but I will avenge you.' It's the worst."

Tosh laughed into her beer. "Yeah, it's pretty bad," she agreed. She watched a girl unsuccessfully trying to get the attention of a bloke standing by the bar and gave a sigh. "It's a shame about Ianto and John, isn't it?"

Owen shook his head. "John was never Ianto's boyfriend. He was a substitute at best."

"Don't say that. They loved each other."

Owen snorted. "John loved Ianto more than the other way around, don't deny it."

Tosh ducked her head. "I'm not. He still loves Jack, I think."

"Proves just how much of an idiot he is," Owen replied. "Take it from someone who played a doctor on a sci-fi show, who got shot and then revived magically because … nobody knows why exactly: John should stay, Jack should move to America and Ianto to Australia. Maybe we'd get some peace and quiet then."

xxx

"Ianto," John said softly, entering the modern kitchen of their house. The bright lights were all on, reflected on the spotless counters and appliances, chasing the shadows away to crowd in the living room behind Ianto. He was sitting at the bar that separated the kitchen from the lounge, a bottle of wine next to a half-empty glass. In the oversized t-shirt Ianto liked to wear to bed, he looked small and fragile. His blue eyes found John's only reluctantly. John put his hands on his hips and sighed deeply. "You're drinking."

"Yes," Ianto replied, gulping the rest of the glass down and pouring a new one.

John bit his lip. "It's two in the morning."

"I couldn't sleep."

John nodded slowly, then he got a glass for himself and sat down next to him, pouring himself a generous amount. The wine had been a gift from Ianto's sister when they'd bought the house together a year ago. They'd kept it in the cellar for a special occasion. John had always thought that they could use it to celebrate their engagement. It seemed fitting somehow, to drink it now – at the end of their road. They would start looking for buyers for the house this week. Neither of them wanted to keep it.

"I've been thinking," Ianto said slowly.

"What?" John answered.

"About taking that job in New Zealand."

John grimaced. "That B-movie?"

Ianto shrugged. "It's not that bad."

"It's worse," John replied. "I'll find you something better."

The sigh Ianto gave was deep and heart-felt. "I should look for a new agent."

John took a big swallow of the wine, grimacing at the taste of something that should only ever have been drunk in small sips. "I really hate repeating myself, even if the context has changed," he said, raising an eyebrow and letting a bitter smirk show. "Don't leave me, Ianto."

Ianto chuckled sadly. "I'm not worth much. I started in a hit show when I was barely out of being a kid. Nobody takes sci-fi actors seriously anyway … I know it's a stupid B-movie, but it's a chance. It's not that bad."

"Something better will come along."

"What?"

"You're bloody talented," John answered, staring at him earnestly. "People will realize that. You've barely started."

Ianto ducked his head and buried one hand in his dark hair. "I'm so sorry." He sounded miserable.

"It's all right," John replied. He straightened his shoulders. "Or no, it really isn't but I guess it's nobody's fault."

They sat there for another hour, not talking. Just drinking.

xxx

" _As long as there is injustice, whenever a Targathian baby cries out, wherever a distress signal sounds among the stars ... we'll be there. This fine ship, and this fine crew. Never give up. Never surrender."_

Jack sighed and poured himself another glass of scotch before he leaned back on the plush white couch. He switched off the telly, the image of his younger self fading to black, leaving him alone in a too-big, too-luxurious lounge of a house he would never be able to properly use on his own. Situated just at the border to the Brecon Beacons on a hill, the house presented its owner with an impressive view of the park. It had been quite the investment when Jack had bought it just after _Galaxy Quest_ took off but it was paid off by now and he took good care of the grounds. His career was going well at the moment – he did all sorts of roles in many different programmes – but that could change at any time. The house was his insurance, his fall-back solution should everything else fail and he treated it as such.

His mobile chirped and he played with the thought of ignoring it – for about a minute. However, finally his curiosity got the better of him and he snatched the phone off the table before sinking back into the embrace of the couch. A text from John lit up the screen.

 _Ianto is still in love with you. That's why we broke up._

Jack rolled his eyes. A new message came in.

 _Don't pretend you're not still in love with him._

Jack thought it was worth a try, so he poured himself another glass and gulped the scotch down. Losing Ianto had hurt, but he knew that he was partly to blame for the break-up, for the betrayed look on Ianto's face. Their relationship might have already been half-way over at that moment, but Jack had definitely given it the last push over the cliff. And Ianto didn't even know the worst of it … his mobile chimed again with another text.

 _Don't get too drunk. You've got the opening of that electronics store tomorrow and the fan gig first thing._

Jack flung the mobile towards the end of the couch and pulled the bottle closer.


	3. Chapter 3

**3.**

He woke to the sun piercing his eyes and a soft knock on the glass doors of his patio in his ears. Carefully, he opened his eyes and saw three people – two men and one woman – wearing silver jumpsuits and similarly styled, short black hair looking at him with tilted heads and curious expressions on their faces.

He groaned and closed his eyes.

The knock sounded again.

Jack frowned. Something was niggling at the back of his mind. He was supposed to do something, be somewhere … he sighed deeply and carefully got to his feet. The sun fell through the panoramic windows facing his patio. It felt like it was trying to split his skull apart, his mouth was dry and his stomach nauseous, the perfect view over the mist-covered hills and valleys lost on him. He'd drunk more than he'd intended to – it happened more and more these days. Sometimes, he worried about himself.

Despite only wearing pants and a t-shirt, he slid open the patio door. Unexpected visitors would have to deal with his state of undress this early in the morning. The cool air felt fresh against his prickly skin. A relief.

His visitors took a respectful step back, simultaneously placing their left fists over their hearts in the typical _Galaxy Quest_ salute he remembered so well. Their costumes and make-up were flawless and they seemed decent enough, but while Jack liked being surrounded by fans, he didn't appreciate them turning up at his house. He grumbled, "Can I help you?"

One of the two men stepped forward and spoke in a hushed tone, "Sir, I understand this is a terrible breach in protocol."

"Right. You shouldn't come to my house."

The man swallowed nervously but met Jack's eyes with his clear blue ones. "Please, I beg you to hear our plea. We are Thermians from the Klatu Nebula. Our people are being systematically hunted and slaughtered by Roth'h'ar Sarris of Fatu-Krey. We are to meet in negotiation." He grimaced. "However, our past efforts in this regard have been disastrous."

Jack frowned quizzically.

The man seemed to see that as interest and eagerly continued, "Please, Captain, you are our last hope." He paused and then with a hopeful light in his eyes said, "We have secured your limousine."

"What?" Jack asked and then he remembered. "Oh! Oh, it's the thing for … the thing that's ..." He smiled, slightly embarrassed. "Maybe I should get some trousers on. Come on in."

He rubbed the back of his neck while he went back to the couch and picked up one of his socks, looking around for the other one. He found it under the coffee table and put them on while the man spoke again, "Captain, I must say that standing here in your presence is the greatest honour we could ever have hoped to achieve in our lifetimes."

The woman and the other man nodded in agreement.

Jack shrugged, pulling up his jeans and then slipping into his shoe, looking around for the other one. "That's ... I really appreciate that." He turned in a circle, shaking his head. "Would you guys look for another shoe that looks like this, please?" He pointed at his foot.

His visitors turned stiffly and then, in unison, looked at the ceiling.

Jack closed his eyes. "Uh ..." He sighed. "It's all right. I'll just get another pair."

xxx

The tinted windows and air-conditioned passenger section of the limousine made up for the tortuous trek over Jack's sunny lawn. He huddled into the seat, sliding his sunglasses up to rest on his head. By now, he'd learned that the group's leader was called Mathasar and the young man's name was Teb. They were very dedicated to their roles, apparently. Jack could appreciate that and decided to play along for now. The woman hadn't been introduced as of yet, even though Jack had made several hints at her to tell him her name. She was a pretty little thing with the same clear blue eyes Mathasar and Teb had – Jack by now assumed that they were siblings or at least related – and a shy smile. Jack preferred men, but he had also always felt attracted to women and she was his type, so he didn't hesitate to throw her flirty smiles and winks despite his hang-over.

A third man was waiting in the car for them. As soon as the door closed and the car started to move he said, "Sir, I am Lahnk, Senior Requisition Officer."

Jack's gaze was riveted on the girl. He winked at her, which she answered with another one of her shy smiles.

Lahnk droned on, "Before we travel to the ship, please let me know if you have any requirements. Weapons, documents, personnel ..."

"A coke?" Jack asked, feeling parched. "Do you have one of those?"

Lahnk nodded at Mathasar who opened the small fridge installed in the door and got out a can. Jack took it appreciatively. Then he looked at the girl again, smiling.

Lahnk and Mathasar exchanged nervous glances, while Teb took over the conversation, "Sir, I would like to explain the history between our people and the Sarris Dominion in greater detail. In the five million years following the great nebula burst, our people were one ..."

Jack tuned him out. He'd never needed the back story, even when still filming the show. He could run with his dialogue and nothing else. He winked at the girl again, softly asking, "Hey, darling, how are you?"

She smiled back prettily but didn't answer.

"What's your name?" he asked.

She just continued smiling.

Jack looked at Mathasar questioningly. "Doesn't she talk?"

Before Mathasar could say something, Teb interrupted his history lesson to explain, "Laliari's translator is broken."

She opened her mouth, as if to contradict him, but instead of words, a screeching sound poured forth that made Jack wince slightly. He stared at her, once again deciding that fans were a weird if loveable bunch, and opened his coke. "Okay." He took a sip and settled back into the seat. "You know, guys, I had a late night with a Kreemorian Fangor Beast, so I'm going to just shut my eyes for a bit." He gifted Teb with a smile and then settled his sunglasses over his eyes. "But go on, I'm listening to everything you say."

Within a minute, he was asleep.

xxx

He woke to somebody shaking his shoulder. Blearily, he blinked his eyes open, just to look into Laliari's beautiful face. "Captain?" She gave a chuckle when he just groaned groggily. "I'm sorry to wake you, sir, but your presence is requested on the command deck."

Jack sat up slowly, finding himself no longer in the limousine, but on the floor of a round room. The walls, floor and ceiling were white and smooth, reflecting the bright lights and reminding him faintly of the clean, neat atmosphere of the _NSEA Torchwood_. He reminded himself that he was at a gig organized by fans and thus assumed that the similarities were intentional. He got up slowly, finding his feet just like he found his role, shrugging it on like a coat he'd missed. He stretched and looked at Laliari questioningly. "I see they fixed your translator."

Laliari just gave a tense nod and folded her hands on her back before walking towards the door.

Jack followed her out of the room into the corridor. "Wow!" he said upon seeing the corridor's walls and floor were just as flawlessly white as in the other room – and seemingly endless. "This model is actually quite big. Looks like the real thing from the show. Good work, guys." He touched the wall, the sleek material feeling warm to the touch. Some other fans in silver jumpsuits and with short black hair and blue eyes wandered about, nodding at him or saluting. He did his best to slide into character, his posture becoming straighter. He felt a little silly in the faded grey t-shirt and the track pants and sneakers. The fans had done some amazing work here, they deserved better.

Laliari pulled him out of his thoughts, her brisk walk matched in her serious demeanour. "Sir, Sarris has moved the deadline. We are approaching his ship at the Ni-delta now. He wants an answer to his proposal. I understand you have been briefed."

Jack rubbed his forehead, trying to lighten the insistent pounding behind his eyes. "Yeah, I got most of it in the car. Sarris is the bad guy, right?"

Laliari nodded. "Yes, sir, he is a very bad man indeed. He has tortured our scientists, put us to work in the gallium arsenide mines, captured our females for his own demented purposes ..."

"Okay, I've got the picture," Jack interrupted her. "You have pages or do you want me to just improvise?"

Laliari stopped at an intersection of several corridors, looking up at him with a frown. "I'm not sure I understand you."

Before Jack could answer her, Mathasar joined them, smiling tensely. "Captain, welcome to the _Torchwood II_."

"Hi!" Jack replied.

Mathasar looked at his t-shirt sceptically. "Would you like to don your uniform?"

Jack checked his watch. He'd slept through most of this gig and he wasn't even sure whether he'd thought to bring his jumpsuit. Was it in the boot of the limousine? He couldn't remember. "You know what, I'd like to skip that. I've got this gig in Swansea in about two hours. Is that all right?"

Mathasar looked at Laliari, who shrugged. Mathasar frowned at Jack and slowly answered, "As you wish."

Just then, Teb skidded around the corner, hurrying towards them with a worried expression on his young face. "Sir!" he called, addressing Mathasar. "It's Sarris. He's here."

xxx

They had walked further down the corridor and passed a lot of doors and Jack had again marvelled at the sheer size of the model when, finally, they reached the bridge. When the door slid open, Jack felt transported back into the good old times.

The set was amazing, all blinking lights and sleek forms, people working on the computers and a large flat screen at the front showing stars and planets, imitating space perfectly. The centre of the room was taken up by a group of comfortable chairs and tables with screens fitted into them to form work stations. They were grouped around one chair in the middle without a work station – the Captain's chair, Jack's chair.

The only difference to the set was that this bridge wasn't as brightly lit as Jack remembered. It seemed a bit dark. Jack put his hands on his hips. "This is just great. You know, usually it's just cardboard walls in a garage."

Mathasar led him forward and invited him to sit in the Captain's chair. He sat down, readjusting to the feel of it and swallowing his disappointment at being the only one here. The workstations of his team were manned by strangers. Jack could still remember how Ianto had always sat to the left of him, navigator and gunner, and Owen to his right, always the faithful adviser. Gwen had been situated just behind Jack while Tosh's place had been in the engine room, often communicating with them via the flat screen.

Teb approached. "Sir, we apologize for operating in low power mode, but we are experiencing a reflective flux field this close to the galactic axis."

Jack cleared his throat, fiddling with his empty can of coke. "You know, what I could use is a cup-holder and a couple of aspirin."

The young man who was sitting in the chair Ianto had owned during the show turned to him. "We're approaching in five ticks, sir. Command to slow?"

Jack nodded, reminded of an old joke between Ianto and him. "Set it on screen-saver two."

The navigator looked confused.

Jack smiled. "Because, you know, we have to ... oh, I'm sorry to break the mood here." He cleared his throat and straightened his posture. "Slow it down to Mark 2, Lieutenant."

The screen at the front flickered and then suddenly showed an image that made Jack grip his coke a little tighter in response. The face staring back at him looked like that of a cockroach gone mad: green scales made up the skin, mean yellow eyes glared at him and it had feelers on its head. "I see fear," it – he – said in a deep voice. "That is expected." His beady eyes alighted on Jack and he felt a shiver down his spine. "Ah, they bring a new Captain."

Jack looked at Mathasar appreciatively. "It's good," he said softly. "Good job."

Sarris continued, "Here are my demands."

"He's very scary," Jack added.

Sarris grinned evilly, "And if I do not hear what I like ..."

"Very real," Jack muttered.

"... then there will be blood and pain as you cannot imagine."

Jack took a deep breath and checked his watch. His time was running out. He would have to leave now to be in time for the gig in Swansea. He resolved to note down the number of the guy who played Mathasar, though. These fans had done an amazing job and he was tempted to come back and work with them again – maybe even convince the others to do a little reunion thing.

"First," Sarris said, "I require the Omega 13. Second: I will require a technician."

Decision made, Jack raised his voice to be heard over Sarris. "All right, everyone! Let's bring this to an end." The Thermians were staring at him and Jack grinned. "Let's fire blue particle cannons full, red particle cannons full, gannet magnets left and right – and let them run all chutes. And while you're at it, why don't you toss that at them, killer." He chucked the empty can of coke to the gunner. "That should take care of old lobster-head, shouldn't it?" He got up and turned his back on Sarris, applauding the fans who were looking at him in confusion. "This was great! You'll be hearing from my agent."

With that, he left the bridge.

xxx

Standing just outside the door leading to the bridge, Jack looked up and down the corridor, not quite sure where he'd come from. All the corridors looked virtually the same and seemed to go on forever. He started to wonder whether these people had rented an old warehouse and built the set in there. This was way more than the project of a few fans in a garage or the basement of their parents' house.

He finally picked a direction at random, hoping it would lead him towards the exit. Curiously enough, nobody was around he could ask. All the extras seemed to have vanished, probably to watch the proceedings on the bridge.

He'd only walked a few steps when Mathasar caught up to him, looking slightly stunned and very nervous. "Captain? Where are you going?"

Jack shrugged. "I have another gig for an electric store this morning. This was fun, but I need to dash."

Mathasar's eyes widened. "You ... you mean on Earth?"

Jack raised an eyebrow and checked his mobile to see whether John had already impatiently texted him, however, they must be somewhere remote. He didn't get anything resembling a signal. John would be cross and the team would be angry – again. He sighed resignedly. "Yeah. Earth. I need to get back to Earth, kids." He grinned at Mathasar and then startled slightly when he heard a muffled thump followed by several others. He realized what the noises meant and chuckled. "Sorry I can't stay for the epic space battle."

"But ..." Mathasar looked completely out of his depth, his blue eyes desperate. "Captain ... the negotiation ... you ... you ... you fired on him."

Jack nodded, looking down one corridor and turning to take another, vaguely more familiar one. "Yes, long live ... what's the name of your planet again?"

"Thermia."

"Long live Thermia." He gave up his futile search. "Where's the exit?"

Mathasar didn't answer, instead asking, "But what if Sarris survives?"

Jack frowned in annoyance but decided to play along for another minute or so. "Oh, I doubt it! I gave him both barrels."

Mathasar looked doubtful. "He has a very powerful ship."

Jack sighed, finally putting a hand on Mathasar's shoulder. "If you get any more problems with the guy, just, you know, give me a call. Now, where do I need to go?"

Mathasar gave a short nod and swallowed thickly, then he reached into his pocket and handed Jack a small device that looked like a futuristic, silver walkie-talkie. Jack remembered it from the show – it was a long-range communicator. As if reading his thoughts, Mathasar corrected, "It's an interstellar vox."

Jack frowned, accepting the device. It fit into his hand comfortably, just like he remembered. For a prop, it also felt quite heavy. "Vox is actually a cooler name." When he looked up at Mathasar again, he was slightly perturbed to see a single tear sliding down his face. "Uh ..."

Mathasar threw his arms around him, the awkward hug only made more awkward by the fact that he was much shorter and pulled Jack down quite a bit. When he stepped back, there were more tears on his face. Jack felt slightly out of depth and didn't quite know what to say. Fans had got emotional on him before but this seemed … different, somehow. He cleared his throat and nodded, pocketing the vox in his leather jacket.

Mathasar returned the nod with a brave smile and led the way a few more steps down the corridor, opening the door to the glaringly white, empty circular room Jack had arrived in. He crossed his hands on his back. "How can we thank you, Captain? You ... you have saved our people."

Jack waved the compliment away, feeling a blush rise. "Yeah, okay. You know, you people have been great. You really have." He clicked the button on the vox that opened a channel, flustered about his own emotional reaction. "This thing is real-looking. Hello? Hello?" He chuckled, winking at Mathasar, and entered the room. He looked for an exit, another door, but he didn't see anything of the sort. When he turned back to ask Mathasar about it, he realized that he was gone and the door to the corridor was closed.

"Hey!" Jack called. "Where's my limo?"

The lights went out.

"Very funny!" Jack said. "Come on, people, I've got an appointment to keep!"

A single spot of light above his head lit up, blinding him for a moment. If Jack was completely honest with himself, he was starting to feel a little anxious. "Okay, I get it!" He tried to take a subtle step to the side to escape the spotlight – for once not feeling like he wanted to bathe in it – and found himself unable to move. That was when fear set in for real. "Guys?!" he screamed. "Not funny!" He yelped when something liquid-looking and clear started to creep up his legs. "Oh, Jesus!" he muttered. "Bugger!" He tried to step out of it, but was still unable to move. "No, no, no!" The liquid crept up to his hips, encasing his chest and then it was over his head. It wasn't wet, though. Just a bit cold. He could still breathe, his panting, panicked breaths seeming unnaturally loud to him.

And then, the ceiling started to slide open with a loud, humming noise until the walls were gone and he was standing on a platform … in space.

When Jack looked at the stars spread out around him, at the planets he could make out and the moons surrounding them, at the space ships battling, the energy weapons discharging, the steady thumping noise he'd dismissed just a minute ago actually turning out to be the sound of Sarris's brutal-looking ship firing at and hitting the sleek Thermian version of the _NSEA Torchwood_ … that was when Jack Harkness realized that everything he'd witnessed today was real.

No fans trying to catch a bit of private time with their star. Aliens looking for their saviour.

"Oh God," he muttered … and then he screamed as he was shot forward like a cannon ball, passing by stars, planets, sun systems and galaxies in seconds, nausea rising, his pulse elevated, his mind unable to catch up …

… the next thing he knew was that he was standing in his backyard, shivering and stunned, staring at the beautiful expanse of the Brecon Beacons in the morning light.

His mobile beeping with a text message from John startled him out of his stupor and he only now noticed that the strange liquid suit was gone, only leaving a puddle on the ground around him. With shaking hands, he got his mobile from his jeans.

John.

 _Where the hell are you?_

There was no way he could answer in the form of a text.


	4. Chapter 4

**4.**

Gwen bravely kept a smile on her face – for the cameras, for the small crowd of fans that had gathered and for her own dignity. "Take it from us," she said what she'd rehearsed hastily just five minutes ago while trying to zip her jumpsuit a bit higher, "we've been all over the universe."

Tosh next to her was smiling just as bravely, but Gwen had always felt that she mastered these events with more grace. "But we've never seen space age values like we've seen here ... at ..."

It took Ianto a moment to react, his stony face giving nothing away. "... Tech Value Electronics Superstore."

Owen didn't say anything for a long moment and he looked deeply ashamed. Tosh nudged him and he finally slowly said the much-hated phrase, "I may be dead, but I love these prices."

The store manager cheered and his staff joined in over-enthusiastically, as did the fans with a more honest form of enthusiasm. Gwen cut the band to signal that the store in the south of Cardiff was now officially opened and then it was over.

Gwen preferred conventions.

xxx

It was Ianto who saw Jack first, his blue eyes narrowing angrily when he spotted him jogging towards the table outside the store where they dutifully gave autographs and took pictures with a few people, while the majority of the crowd parking their cars just went past them into the store without sparing them a glance. "Look who's decided to turn up," Ianto muttered darkly.

Tosh glanced in Jack's direction and frowned. Jack was looking around the parking lot frantically. Even from a distance, she could see that something wasn't quite right. Jack looked haunted and that was unlike the self-confident man he made a point of always appearing as.

The second Jack spotted them sitting in the shade of a parasol outside the store, he started running towards them. In his haste, he overlooked a group of fans in _Galaxy Quest_ uniforms and Tosh grimaced when Jack and one of the young men collided and went down in a flurry of merchandise. Jack righted himself quickly, picking up what looked like a long-range communicator, from the ground and didn't pay the fans any mind while he ran towards them.

"Here we go again," Owen said grimly. When Jack reached them, he didn't waste any time and hissed angrily, "Do you know what time it is? Why do you even bother to show up at all?"

Jack didn't answer him. He had a wild look in his eyes while he leaned in close. "Not now."

Tosh was a bit startled to see him shaking slightly and she frowned, reaching out a hand. Jack took it and Tosh gasped. His fingers felt icy cold.

Jack swallowed audibly and waited until Gwen had sent off the last fan waiting in line with a friendly smile before he said, "I was there. I was up there!" When they just looked at him quizzically, he gave an exasperated sigh. "Yesterday at the convention, I met people dressed like aliens. And I thought they were fans but they were _actually_ aliens. They were Termites … or Dalmatians. I can't really remember because I was kind of hung over this morning, but what they built was extraordinary. It was a huge spaceship. I got to fight this bloke named Sarris, and I kicked his arse."

Gwen stared at Jack, Owen muttered a curse and Ianto raised an eyebrow. Tosh squeezed Jack's hand. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.

Jack looked at all of them individually and then straightened, brushing a hand down his pale face and then through his dark hair. "I know what you're thinking, but I can prove it. They gave me this." He held up the long-range communicator he'd picked up after his run-in with the fan.

Gwen reached for her belt and held up her own prop.

With faked excitement, Owen said, "Look! Gwen met the aliens, too!"

"No, no, no, no," Jack said, shaking his head frantically. "Can you talk to people in space on this?" He raised his communicator to his lips, " _Torchwood_ , this is the Captain. Over!"

Owen rolled his eyes. "Oh, for God's sake!"

Gwen patted Ianto's arm and got up. "I'm leaving."

Ianto gave a nod and got to his feet as well. "Yes."

Tosh hesitated for a moment, looking at Jack's crestfallen expression. She felt sorry for him and wondered whether she should tell John that he needed to get some professional help for Jack. She was worried. In the eight years she'd known him now, Jack had never before acted remotely like this. He pretended that the adventures of the _NSEA Torchwood_ were real to humour the fans, sometimes, but it was only an act. Never like this.

Ianto put one hand on the small of Tosh's back. "Come on, Tosh."

Reluctantly, she let herself be led away, but couldn't help a last glance over her shoulder.

Jack was staring down at the communicator. "This isn't mine. Wait! That kid! Where is that kid, the one I ran into?" His eyes lit up when he didn't see the young man he'd collided with but three fans in silver uniforms and with short dark hair – a woman and two men – approaching. "There!" he said and it made Tosh stop in her tracks. "There!"

"Tosh," Ianto said.

"Wait," she replied, holding onto his wrist. Gwen and Owen paused, looking back to see what was keeping them.

The woman bowed slightly. "Begging your pardon, Captain, we come with news. Sarris lives. He was able upon your departure to make an escape."

"Listen!" Jack said and then looked at the woman pleadingly. "Tell them."

The woman continued, "However he has contacted us, and wishes to negotiate a surrender."

Jack looked at his team and his gaze alighted on Tosh. "Sarris," he said. "He's evil."

"We humbly implore you to come and negotiate the terms," the woman finished, looking at Jack expectantly.

Owen just scoffed loudly and walked away, back towards the van John had rented this morning to pick them all up.

Jack looked disappointed for a second, looking after Owen, but then he stared at Gwen feverishly. "They want me back. Is this amazing? They want me back and I want you to go with me. Please. Don't even think about it. Let's go. Yes?"

Gwen shook her head and followed Owen around the corner of the store.

Jack's face fell and he stepped closer to Ianto and Tosh. "You're ... you're going?"

Ianto narrowed his eyes. "Yes. Stop this nonsense now. This isn't funny."

He turned away but Jack grabbed his arm. "Ianto, this is not ... I'm not joking here. This isn't some prank. It's not a joke." Ianto tried to shake him off, but Jack just held on tighter, desperation marring his handsome face. "No, listen. Come on." His hand held on to Ianto, but his pleading gaze turned to Tosh. "Tosh! You know me and I'm a lot of things, but am I crazy?"

Tosh exchanged a look with Ianto. "No," she said carefully, "but you reek of alcohol."

Ianto shook Jack's hand off. "You know it's one thing to treat us like shit, but it's another thing to play games with your fans when you're drunk and clearly out of your mind."

Jack shook his head. "This isn't a fan," he said, pointing at the woman. "This ... this is a Termite."

"Have a nice life, Jack." Ianto turned away, putting an arm around Tosh's shoulder to pull her along. She didn't look back this time, knowing she would just start to sympathize with Jack and he didn't need sympathy, he clearly needed help.

John was waiting for them at the van, his hands shoved into his black jeans and his black leather jacket zipped up against the nippy wind coming from the bay. His blue eyes were sympathetic. "Owen says he's lost it?"

"He's drunk," Ianto answered bitterly. "Let's go."

"Yeah, just let me make a short call." John took a few steps away from the van, dialling his mobile.

Ianto sat on one of the seats in the back next to Owen while Tosh remained standing outside the van, thoughtfully chewing her lip and looking for an explanation for Jack's erratic behaviour. She didn't think it was just the alcohol.

Gwen sighed. "Boy! I didn't know you could get that drunk."

Tosh cleared her throat and tucked a few strands of her black hair behind her ears. "You know," she said slowly, coming to realize what exactly had just happened. "I think we should have just taken the job ... I mean, who knows the next time he'll ask us."

Owen shook his head. "He was drunk, Tosh. Do you really think he was talking about a job?"

They all looked towards the corner of the store, where they'd last seen Jack.

"Fuck!" Owen said and jumped out of the van. Ianto and the others followed him. "Why are we doing this?" Owen grumbled.

Gwen answered, "Because I'm planning a wedding, Ianto has a sister to support and Tosh and you have bills to pay."

They saw Jack when they turned the corner, turning onto the main street with the three fans and vanishing from view. They quickly followed him.

"Hey!" John's voice came from behind them. "Where are you lot going?"

Ianto waved at him to follow just before they turned onto the main street, looking around for Jack and not seeing him. What they saw was one of the fans – the woman – smiling at them and then entering a small alley. Gwen was the first to go after her, Tosh and the others quickly following. The alley was a dead-end, littered with rubbish and smelling of waste. Nevertheless, the woman just stood there, smiling at them as if she was welcoming them into her perfect home.

Briskly, Gwen announced, "We are coming, too."

"All of you wish to go to the ship?" the woman asked.

Gwen squared her shoulders and answered testily, "Yes. We wish to go to the ship. You see, we work together or not at all."

"Wonderful! The Captain had me continue transmission in case you changed your mind."

Tosh looked up at Ianto who rolled his eyes. She suppressed a giggle. Jack had known they'd give in, of course. They'd never hear the end of this.

The woman spoke into her communicator. " _Torchwood_ , requesting four interstellar pods for immediate departure."

From behind them, John said, "Boy, they do take this seriously, don't they?"

The woman looked at him quizzically.

"I'm coming, too, by the way," John added, stopping next to Ianto. "But I want to read the contract first."

The woman ignored that request, instead correcting into her communicator, "Five pods, for immediate departure."

Tosh felt something cold slither up her ankle. When she looked down, she saw a clear fluid slowly making its way up her legs. She tried to shake it off and saw the others try to do so as well – just as unsuccessfully.

Gwen gasped. "Oh God!"

"What the hell?" Owen asked.

The woman smiled pleasantly. "I look forward to meeting you all in person when we arrive at the ship. End transmission."

With that, she vanished.

Gwen screamed and tried to swat at the liquid with her hands but she didn't seem to be able to grasp it. Tosh stood still and took a deep breath, then she carefully touched whatever it was that was encasing her up to her hips right now. It felt cold to the touch, but not wet or solid or like anything at all really. She couldn't actually feel it. It was like an optical illusion.

Ianto looked at John angrily. "What is this?"

"How should I know?" John asked testily, squirming against the liquid swallowing him.

"Oh my God," Gwen said. "Oh my God!"

"Don't panic!" Tosh said loudly, getting everyone to stare at her incredulously. "It's no use to panic."

Gwen snapped, "Don't you start quoting your stupid catchphrase at me!"

And with that, the liquid encased Tosh fully and she couldn't hear anything anymore.

Just a moment later, she was flying, passing by streaks of light and the knowledge that she was in space hit her with such a sudden force that she could barely comprehend what was going on. All she knew was that it was beautiful and unique and the best thing that had ever happened to her, because she was actually in space, talking to aliens … not just pretending anymore, but for real.

And then it was over.

She was standing on solid ground. White floor, white circular walls, the others next to her. She was so cold and she felt frozen in place – probably a side-effect of the transport. Nobody seemed able to move.

A door slid open and her eyes widened when she saw … _beings_ enter. They looked like tentacled nightmares come true, her shivering increasing when instinctual fear of the unknown hit her bloodstream. The aliens came closer, their voices a shrill screeching that hurt her ears, their tentacles waving strange, blinking, whirring devices in their direction. Tosh tried to lean back a bit, to move and escape, but her legs still protested any movement.

And then one of the beings looked down and screeched and all three of them hit a switch on their belts … and now they were humanoid, wearing silver suits and short black hair just like the woman in the alley, just like the other two men who had approached Jack. One of them, a young man, stepped forward, smiling apologetically. "Our most sincere apologies. We forgot about our appearance generators."

"You came!" Jack said from the door, smiling happily. "Who wants the grand tour?"

Gwen screamed. Her voice finally jolted Tosh out of her own paralysis and she took a step back, feeling Owen's hands on her shoulders. Ianto clapped a hand over Gwen's mouth, silencing her abruptly while John was still just standing there, clutching his mobile.

Jack stared at them. "Anybody else?"

Tosh took a deep breath. "That was a hell of a thing." She smiled. Jack answered with an excited grin and Tosh leapt into his arms, giggling happily. "Oh my God, you brilliant man! I knew it!" She kissed his cheek and then looked back at the others. "What's wrong with you?"

They gaped at her.


	5. Chapter 5

**5.**

Jack smiled at Tosh. She was walking next to him with awe in her dark eyes and a spring to her step he recognized from the old days, when her smiling at him had been taken for granted. Tosh had been the one to stay regularly in contact with him the longest. He was a bit angry at himself for not having realized that she'd withdrawn just like everyone at some point. He wondered how he could have been so blind. Losing Tosh's approval should have been a final warning.

He glanced back at the others. Gwen was huddled close to Owen, her eyes flickering around to look at the Thermians walking by, the endless corridors they were passing through and Jack himself as if she was suspecting that he'd induced some kind of hallucination in her. Owen was pale. He looked ill and a bit like he wished he would wake up from a nightmare that was all too real. Ianto and John walked close together, their faces equally worried and disbelieving.

Jack quickly turned back to look forwards again. He couldn't stand to see the way John and Ianto seemed to still be so close and able to talk, to draw comfort from each other, despite their break-up. It was so different from how he and Ianto had split and made him wonder once again if he would ever be able to get back to that level of comfort with him. He didn't like to admit out loud that he missed him, but it was a fact. Ianto had been everything to him from the moment they acknowledged their attraction to each other. He had been everything for three years. Things shouldn't have ended the way they did. Of course, Jack always insisted it was Ianto's fault, but he could admit – if only to himself – that he had been wrong as well. Even acting out of hurt feelings, he shouldn't have done what he did.

Ianto's voice startled him out of his thoughts. "Where are we?"

Jack gave him a short look over his shoulder. Still walking close to John. He faced forwards again grimly, tightening his hold around Tosh's shoulders. "Twenty-third quadrant of the gamma sector. There's a map in the forward room. Come on." He stopped walking when he saw Mathasar and his second-in-command Teb approach.

Mathasar smiled warmly, looking at all of them with joy on his round, friendly face. "Welcome, my friends."

Jack stepped closer to stand next to him and faced the team, clapping a hand on Mathasar's shoulder. "This is Mathasar. He's their leader."

Mathasar nodded and gravely said, "On behalf of all my people, I wish to thank you from the deepest place in our hearts."

"Mathasar," Jack added, "this is … my crew."

The looks Mathasar and Teb gave the others at this were just as reverent as the looks they gave Jack all the time. He was a bit relieved not to be the focus of the attention anymore, if he was absolutely honest with himself. Something about the unconditional respect in the Thermians' eyes made him uncomfortable.

Mathasar stepped forward. "Dr. Lazarus," he said softly, looking at Owen before his eyes strayed to Gwen. "Lt. Madison." He reached out a hand and Gwen took it after a short moment of hesitation, smiling in embarrassment. Mathasar didn't seem to notice, having moved on to Ianto already. "Young Laredo, how you've grown!"

Ianto looked down at himself. "Well …," he said and shrugged.

Jack had to agree with Mathasar. Ianto had been twenty-three when _Galaxy Quest_ had been cancelled. Now, five years later, his features were more earnest, his blue eyes wiser. Jack hated that he had a part in subduing the always-smiling bundle of energy Ianto had been back then.

Mathasar smiled at Tosh. "Tech Sgt. Chen."

Jack had already suspected that she was Mathasar's favourite, but if he hadn't, then the choked utterance of her name would have given it away now. Tosh nodded at him with a warm smile, seeming more comfortable with the situation than the others.

Mathasar's eyes alighted on John. "And ..." He frowned quizzically and Jack couldn't suppress a grin.

"Uh ..." John shrugged and then hastily dug into the breast pocket of his jacket. "I'm John Hart, their agent." He handed Mathasar his business card.

"John Hart," Mathasar repeated with a nod and put the card into a pocket.

"I also guest-starred," John added. "In one … well … scene."

Gwen cleared her throat. "You ... know all of us?"

Mathasar laughed softly and Teb joined in. Their laughter sounded stiff, though, rehearsed, as if they didn't quite know what the sound meant and were just copying it. Mathasar folded his hands behind his back. "I don't believe there is a man, woman or child on my planet who does not. In the years since we first received transmission of your historical documents, we have studied every facet of your missions and strategies."

Ianto's eyes widened. "You've been watching the show from-"

"Lieutenant," Jack interrupted him and earned himself an angry scowl. He stayed firm, though, correcting, " _historical documents_."

Ianto glared at him, repeating his question. "You've been watching the _historical documents_ from out here?"

Mathasar nodded sadly. "The past hundred years, our society had fallen into disarray. Our goals, our values had become scattered. But since the transmission, we have modelled every aspect of our society from your example and it has saved us. Your courage and teamwork and friendship through adversity were glowing examples. In fact, all you see around you has been taken from the lessons garnered from the historical documents."

John and Ianto exchanged a worried glance and Owen's brow creased. Before he could ask a question or make a remark about that, though, Gwen asked, "Is this a ... a spaceship?"

Jack answered, "No. This is a star-port for the ship." He smiled. "Mathasar was just about to show me the ship. Care to join?"

Tosh nodded immediately while the others just looked at each other hesitantly.

"Over here, please," Mathasar said and opened a door.

It led into a small cabin with glass walls, which – as Jack had learned just before the team had arrived – was an express elevator. Jack stepped inside first, closely followed by Tosh. The others joined them a bit more slowly and Mathasar was the last to step inside, leaving Teb to attend to his duties. Mathasar pressed a button and the elevator moved upwards. At first, the glass walls showed nothing around them but more white walls zipping past at an alarming speed, but then the elevator reached the docking station and Tosh let out a noise of pure joy when she saw the _NSEA Torchwood_.

It took everything Jack had not to join into her infectious glee because the ship was even more majestic than he'd imagined. The _NSEA Torchwood_ – or the _NSEA Torchwood II_ , as Mathasar kept insisting – was beautiful: Sleek and modern, its long body white-washed and elegant … a dream come true for every science-fiction fan – and the exact copy of the ship on the show. But more beautiful in every way, because it was real and huge, not just a tiny model built in the computer.

Gwen crowded close to the glass next to Tosh, her green eyes wide. "This can't be."

Jack was barely able to answer. This was their ship. His ship. He smiled at Gwen and put an arm around Tosh's shoulder.

Owen let out a breath. "Oh, my god!"

The elevator slowed, allowing them all the time they needed to look at the ship.

Ianto said, "It's beautiful." When Jack turned to look at him, Ianto met his eyes and for the first time in a long while, the emotions in his gaze weren't negative. "Absolutely brilliant."

Jack smiled at him and Ianto quirked a grin back, but then he quickly turned his head away, a frown marring his features.

John cleared his throat. "It's real."

"Yes," Jack replied. "It is."

xxx

Mathasar gave them all a tour of the ship. Its interior was in the same style as the star-port – the same winding corridors, the same glaringly white walls and Thermians busily attending to business everywhere they went. The generator room with the Beryllium sphere almost gave Tosh a heart-attack. With awe and reverence, she stared at the huge ball of Beryllium suspended in the air in the middle of the room, powering the ship. Jack had to take her hand and tug her away to not make her lose the group accidentally.

In the medical quarters, Owen sidled up to Jack and softly asked, "Jack, what have you gotten us into?"

Ianto took Jack's other side. "What the hell is going on?"

"What are we doing here?" Gwen added.

Tosh looked down and around. "Wow, the floors are so clean!"

Owen stared at her. "Seriously?"

Mathasar didn't seem to notice the agitation that had befallen most of the group and smiled at Tosh fondly. "Of course they are! Our medical quarters are inspired by Dr. Lazarus's work after all." He smiled at Owen, who was focussed on Jack.

Jack sighed. "We're just here to negotiate Sarris's surrender. It's no big deal."

They left the medical quarters and Mathasar droned on about the organ fabrication chamber, but Tosh and John were the only ones to listen to him.

Gwen was staring at Jack in disbelief, keeping their muffled discussion going. "It's no big deal? Are you crazy? We have to get out of here."

"Oh, come on, guys," Jack replied, rolling his eyes.

"Jack, we are actors, not astronauts!"

Angrily, Jack answered, "You want to go home? Fine. Say the word and we'll all go home, pay our bills, feed our fish, fall asleep in front of the telly ... and miss out on all of this." He paused for effect, letting that sink in, before he continued, "Come on. Do you want to do that? Anybody?"

He looked at Ianto, who avoided his eyes. Jack pressed his lips together and managed to catch Gwen's stare instead. "Gwen, come on, think about ... look at where we are. We're in space." He grabbed Owen's arm. "Owen, this is the role of a lifetime. You want to leave?"

Mathasar's lesson interrupted the silent contemplation of Jack's words. "We have enjoyed preparing many of your esoteric dishes. Your meat feast pizza is a current favourite among the adventurous." He opened a door. "The main barracks."

Jack stopped dead, as did the others. The room was long and filled with two neat rows of beds that seemed to stretch on forever. Next to each bed, one Thermian stood at attention. They couldn't see the other end of the room. Jack was sure that it must cross the whole lower part of the ship. The sleeping arrangements for the crew were rather inelegant and didn't allow for privacy. Then again, the Thermians didn't have much to recreate here. The only quarters ever shown on the show were those of the main characters and other officers working on the ship. They had their own quarters of course. Nobody ever bothered to think about where the rest of the crew slept. Main barracks had been mentioned more than once on the show, though, without implying what they looked like. This seemed to be the Thermians' interpretation.

Next to every bed, one Thermian stood and now they saluted – their left hands going over their hearts.

Jack took a deep breath. "At ease," he said.

At his command, they crossed their hands behind their backs, standing more comfortably.

Jack grinned at the others. "Cool, huh?" he asked.

Owen answered, "You're an idiot."

xxx

John stared at the bridge. It was an exact replica of the bridge from the show. He remembered it so well, having seen it plenty of times when he'd visited the set: Jack's chair front and centre, Ianto and Owen next to him, Gwen just slightly to his right and behind him, the working stations with the embedded screens, the window out front showing the stars or whoever happened to be connected visually to the ship … he looked at the others. Jack immediately strayed towards the Captain's chair and sat down. It was amazing to see him like this. He seemed more alive than in the past five years, his smile more real somehow. When the other four remained standing, Mathasar prompted gently, "If you would all take your positions."

Gwen asked, "Our what?"

Jack sighed. "Guys!"

"Oh, right!" Gwen said. "Yes, absolutely! Uh ..." She looked around and finally sat in her chair. She gave Mathasar a nervous smile. "Comfy."

Owen slowly sat in his own chair. "This is stupid," John heard him say softly. "We're going to die."

"Careful what you say," Jack murmured back. "To them, you are already dead."

Owen glared at him.

John followed Ianto to the navigator's position and stood behind him, his hands brushing Ianto's shoulders. "All right?" he asked softly.

Ianto looked at the control panel. "I remember this," he said. "I was _good_ at this."

Tosh cleared her throat. "Shouldn't I go down to the engine room or something?"

Jack turned a bit to look at her with a wide smile. "Stay a moment longer?" he asked. "Just for this?"

She nodded and put a hand on his shoulder which he squeezed. Mathasar took position in front of Jack, formally folding his hands behind his back. "Captain, some of the crew have requested to be present at this historic event."

Jack nodded. "Sure. Bring them in."

Mathasar gave a short, high-pitched screech that made John wince and then the doors opened and about fifty Thermians squeezed their way inside, standing in a half circle around the main controls.

Ianto turned his head to look up at John with a wry smile. "No pressure, huh? Glad I'm not the Captain."

In that moment, Jack said, "Laredo, take us out."

Ianto froze. "Excuse me?"

Jack didn't look at him while calmly explained, "They designed those controls after watching you. Take her out."

John squeezed Ianto's shoulder, feeling him tremble slightly. "Right," Ianto muttered. "Right. Okay. Take her out."

John swallowed. "Stay calm," he whispered. "It's all right. Just like driving a car."

"Shut up," Ianto hissed. "This is not a bloody car!"

Owen groaned. "We're going to die."

John glared at him.

Jack straightened his posture. "Laredo," he said, more forcefully. "Now."

Ianto reached out a hand and – with trembling fingers – pushed the power button. The Thermians were the only ones who didn't jump when the deep grumbling of the engines coming to life reverberated through the ship and then calmed to a gentle thrum in the background. John made a conscious effort to relax his hands which were grabbing the back of Ianto's chair hard enough to turn his knuckles white. Gwen and Owen were very stiff in their chairs, while Tosh seemed apprehensive, but not scared.

When Ianto reached for the throttle that would take them forward, Gwen grabbed her armrests and Jack's shoulders tensed, though his posture remained seemingly relaxed.

Carefully, Ianto pushed forward and the ship started to move. A relieved sigh escaped John when the huge ship eased forward gently and Ianto relaxed a bit as well, accelerating slightly to take the ship out of the star-port. John saw that more Thermians had gathered at the windows of the port, watching the departure. He squeezed Ianto's shoulder. "You're doing great."

Ianto nodded in relief and turned the dial to steer the ship slightly to the right.

Owen gasped, Gwen made a choked noise and Jack uttered a soft, "Laredo ..."

That was when John noticed. They were veering towards the right – as intended – but a bit too much. Towards the wall of the star-port and the windows. "Uh ... Ianto. You have to move to the left. More to the left."

Ianto shrugged him off. "Would you sit your arse down and let me drive?"

"Just saying."

"Hey! You want to drive this thing?" He carefully turned the dial to set the ship back on its right course but it was too late. The momentum had carried them too closely to the wall and a loud, scraping noise filled the room when the ship brushed along the star-port's walls. John pulled a face and Jack made a hissing sound.

"Oh man," John breathed, remembering when he'd last heard this sound – he'd driven his dad's car and caused a big scrape in its lacquer when he'd brushed along another car while parking. His dad had been furious and this sound had taken up residence in John's memories forever. He cringed and raised his shoulders, pressing his lips together to avoid uttering another word that would without a doubt get the already tense Ianto to snap.

It probably didn't take as long as it felt in the end, but finally, they left the star-port and were out in space.

John wondered if the brand-new ship had now a scrape along its side. The thought was almost funny and he suppressed a grin.

Clearly relieved, Jack said, "Okay."

The Thermians clapped.

Owen groaned. "We're going to die."


	6. Chapter 6

**6.**

Dinner was next. Tosh hadn't even realized how hungry she had been until a Thermian had set down a plate with sushi in front of her. Jack was digging into his fish and chips with relish while Ianto and Gwen had been served a Welsh cawl. John – out of default – had been served fish and chips as well. Tosh felt a little sorry for Owen. Since Dr. Lazarus had died in series two and then revived, he'd lived the life of a zombie. He didn't eat, he didn't drink.

The Thermians respected that. Owen's plate remained empty. He glowered at it sullenly.

Mathasar, Laliari and Teb – their company for this dinner – were oblivious to that. They sat around a U-shaped table in a room that had hosted several formal dinners on the show. The flat screen on the far side of the room showed a picture of a galaxy, taken from quite a distance. Tosh remembered this particular picture. They'd had it on the show as well.

Mathasar smiled at Jack. "How are you enjoying your meal, Captain?"

Jack chuckled. "I'm really enjoying it."

"Yes," Teb said, "we programmed the food synthesizer for each of you based on the regional menu of your birthplace."

"I don't care where you did it! It tastes great!"

Owen glared at him. Tosh took pity and rested a hand on his arm. "I'll just put something aside for you for later?"

Ianto leaned over to them. "There are synthesizers in our quarters – at least there were some on the show. He can make himself something later."

That didn't really seem to make Owen any happier. His stomach grumbled loud enough to be heard by Mathasar, who looked up quizzically.

Tosh laughed. "Oh, listen to my belly. I'm starving!" she covered quickly and dug in.

Owen cleared his throat and seemed to endeavour to distract himself. "So tell me, Mathasar, this Sarris bloke that we're flying to meet, what does he want, exactly?"

Mathasar's smile dimmed a little. "He ... he heard about the device – the Omega 13."

Ianto frowned. "What is it? What does it do?"

Mathasar shook his head. "We don't know."

Teb said, "We were hoping you could enlighten us."

Gwen chuckled and looked at Jack. "Yes, Captain, enlighten us."

Jack cleared his throat and wiped his hands on a napkin, a bit nervous. "Oh, the Omega 13 device. We found that on some alien planet. We don't know what it does, either."

Tosh remembered that all too well. The last episode of _Galaxy Quest_ had ended on a cliffhanger. They'd found the device and been surrounded by enemies and Taggart had ordered his crew to use the Omega 13 … that had been the end of it. The show had been cancelled.

Ianto seemed to remember as well now, though for quite different reasons than Tosh. "Right." He cleared his throat and looked at Jack with raised eyebrows. The show had been cancelled at short notice but they all knew that the end of that plot line had been intended to kill Laredo. They all knew, too, who had had that idea. "Well," Ianto said, "why don't you just turn it on and see what it does?"

The Thermians laughed their artificial laughs.

Laliari answered, "It has at its heart a reactor capable of unthinkable energy. If we were mistaken in our construction, the device would act as a molecular explosive, causing a chain reaction that would obliterate all matter in the universe."

Ianto's eyes widened. "Just an idea."

Jack asked, "Has Sarris ever seen any of the ... uh ... historical records?"

Mathasar shook his head. "No, thank God he has not."

"Oh? So how does he know about the Omega 13 device?"

Mathasar grimaced and ducked his head. "Our former Captain was not ... strong."

Jack raised his eyebrows. " _Former_ Captain?"

"I'm sorry," Mathasar said. "You deserve to be shown." He nodded at Teb who pushed a button on a remote control. The screen lit up when static started to swim on its surface. "The tape was smuggled off of Sarris's ship," Mathasar said. "Originally, one of our own tried to lead."

The image cleared to show a dark room that looked a bit like a cave. A huge, insectoid alien in a suit of armour – Tosh suspected it was Sarris – was standing in front of table, on which a Thermian was strapped down. Others like Sarris, smaller but not less vicious looking, were watching the proceedings.

"Is that all?" Sarris asked threateningly with a deep, gravelly voice. "After three days of this, you still require incentive?" He pushed a button on the table and the Thermian screamed when his arms and legs were stretched beyond endurance.

Gwen's fork clattered on her plate and Ianto drew in a shocked gasp. Tosh felt slightly light-headed all of a sudden.

The Thermian sobbed loudly. "I have told you all I know. If you have any mercy within you, please, let me die."

Owen leaned back in his seat, swallowing thickly.

Sarris answered, "When I grow weary of the noises you make, you shall die." He pushed the button anew and the screams of the Thermian echoed along the room, unbearably shrill and pained. And then the footage cut off abruptly.

They all stared at the screen for a second longer in shocked silence, then John got up and grabbed Ianto's hand. "Hell, no!" he said and left the room, dragging Ianto with him. Owen wasn't far behind and Gwen also followed them quickly.

Tosh met Jack's eyes, who sent her a pleading look. But as much fun as this adventure had been up until now, she couldn't forget the screams and sobs of the Thermian … and she didn't want to end up like him.

She shook her head and got up as well to follow the others.

xxx

All Gwen could think of was that she wanted to go home and be with Rhys, buried under the covers in their bed and planning their wedding. She didn't want to be here, where overgrown cockroaches tortured people and aliens expected them to solve their problems.

How she could ever think that she would be able to handle this, she didn't know. It seemed the others shared her opinion, because they were walking down the corridor just as fast and determined as she was.

"Hey!" Jack called behind them.

It occurred to Gwen that she had no idea where they were going. They were following John. She was pretty sure he didn't know where the exit was, either. He was mindlessly pulling Ianto along and dodging Thermians looking after them in puzzlement, not turning back at Jack's shout.

Nobody did.

"Wait a minute!" Jack called, following them quickly. "Come on! Hold on a minute. You just can't leave. Give me some time to think."

Owen scoffed angrily. "He wants to _think_."

Ianto turned his head to look over his shoulder back at Jack. "No, Jack. That's a wrap. There's nothing to think about."

John added, "I'm not even supposed to be here. I'm just your agent." He stopped dead, everyone else almost running into him. John zipped his leather jacket open and made a choked sound at the red t-shirt he was wearing underneath. He raised his gaze to stare at Ianto. "Oh, hell! I'm expendable. That's how this works, isn't it? I'm the bloke in the episode who dies to prove that the situation is serious! I have to get out of here!"

Mathasar caught up to them, looking distressed. "Captain ..."

Jack turned to him, resigned. "We have to prepare the pods for my crew's departure."

Mathasar shook his head. "Begging my Captain's pardon, sir, but we cannot launch pods at the moment. Sarris will surely detonate any objects leaving the ship."

Jack frowned at him. "Sarris?"

Mathasar nodded gravely. "Yes, sir, he's here now. Your presence is required on the command deck."

Owen asked, "So what? We're not going home?"

Mathasar just gave him a nervous smile that seemed to suffice as answer in his opinion and turned to Tosh. "You're needed in the engine room." With that, he turned and walked back towards the bridge.

Jack looked at them all. "You can't leave anyway."

John groaned.

"Jack," Gwen said earnestly. "Is this really a good idea?"

Jack stepped closer to her and shook his head. She'd never seen him so honest and serious and it shocked her a little. Jack put his hands on his hips, looking exactly like the heroic character she remembered. "I chased him away once. I can do so again." He nodded at them and then turned to walk back towards the bridge. "You can stay here and wait or you can come with me and help."

"Jack," Gwen called after him.

He didn't stop, didn't even turn around ... but he answered. "It's going to be okay!"

John muttered, "Says the guy who is not wearing the red shirt." Then he followed him.

xxx

Except for Mathasar, the bridge was empty when they entered and they all stopped dead at the sight.

Owen made a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a whimper. "Oh God," he said. "There's nobody here. Jack ..."

Mathasar said, "While my people are talented scientists, our attempts to operate our own technologies under tactical simulation have been disastrous." He leaned over Gwen's command station and pushed a button. "I have raised Sarris on zeta frequency for you."

Jack swallowed. "Still, Mathasar ..." But whatever he wanted to say was interrupted by Sarris appearing on the screen at the front of the room.

The room fell silent and the tension increased. Owen felt Gwen shift a little closer to him and wondered if she actually thought he would be able to protect her from this. Sarris grinned at them evilly like an oversized ant, but … Owen frowned. He remembered him from the video. The eye patch and the scar across his face were new additions to his appearance. Maybe Jack's attack on him had left an impression after all.

He saw Jack straighten his posture determinedly and tried to do the same, even though his slighter frame fell pathetically short.

Sarris inclined his head in a mock show of respect. "We meet again, Captain."

Jack cleared his throat and stepped forward, crossing his arms. "Hello, Sarris ... how are you doing?"

"Better than my Lieutenant. He failed to activate the ship's neutron armour as quickly as I'd hoped on our last encounter." With that, he raised his hand and Owen felt the blood drain out of his face when he saw that he was holding the head of one of his own – most likely the unfortunate Lieutenant.

"I'm going to be sick," Gwen whispered. "Owen ..." He grabbed her hand and squeezed.

Jack stared for a long moment. Owen was impressed by how calm his voice sounded when he finally said, "Yeah. Well, you know, I'd like to say I'm real sorry about what happened before. The whole thing was just a misunderstanding."

Sarris threw the head to the side. "Deliver the device to me or I will destroy your ship!"

Jack let out a deep breath and stepped closer to the screen. "We'd like to do that, but frankly, Sarris, sir, we don't know what it is or even _where_ it is."

Sarris smiled. "You have ten seconds."

"Okay," Jack said. "Ten seconds ..." He cleared his throat and looked at Mathasar who just shrugged. "I don't …" He sighed. "I give up. It's yours. You can have it. You have to give me a minute to put it in a box for you, okay?" He turned around. "Gwen," he said, motioning with his hand across his throat to cut the transmission.

Gwen nodded.

Jack looked at all of them earnestly. "Don't panic!", he said calmly. "I've dealt with this bloke before. He's as stupid as he is ugly. Come here." He grabbed John's arm and sat him down at one of the consoles.

Gwen cleared her throat. "Jack."

"Not now, Gwen. Sit." He pushed Ianto to his own chair. "We're going to send everything we can at him, all right? You two fire the guns."

Gwen said, "Jack."

"Not now! John, push these red buttons and send everything we have towards him, okay?"

"Okay," John answered, clearly nervous. He rested his hand on the buttons. His fingers were trembling so much that Owen feared he would accidentally discharge.

Jack nodded at Ianto who called up the weapon's control panel on his console. Jack returned to his place in the middle of the room, facing the screen. "All right, Gwen." He cleared his throat. "Put me back on with him."

Gwen glared at him. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. You _are_ back on with him."

Jack froze. Owen stared at Gwen in disbelief.

"What?" she asked.

Sarris interrupted any answer Owen might have been able to find by saying, "Perhaps I'm not as stupid as I am ugly, Captain."

Jack looked over his shoulder at Gwen. "I gave you the 'kill' gesture."

She crossed her arms. "No, you gave me the 'we're dead' signal. I was agreeing with you."

Owen let go of her hand. "Are you seriously that dense?"

Gwen pointed a finger at him. "Like I know where the 'hold' button is."

"Uh … guys," John said, raising one hand tentatively. He was staring at the monitor of his console. "There's a red thingy moving toward the green thingy."

Ianto frowned. "What?" he asked, coming up next to him and looking down at the monitor.

John repeated, "Red thingy moving toward the green thingy. I think ... I think we're the green thingy."

Owen closed his eyes while a cold weight settled in his chest. "Oh my God, there it is."

Sarris laughed. "A little present for you, _Captain_."

With that, the transmission ended and the front window showed them exactly what was headed straight at them. Gwen screamed at the sight of the torpedoes and Owen took a startled step back.

Jack yelled, "We have to get out of here. Move the ship. Turn it." Ianto just stared at him, so Jack grabbed his arm and dragged him back to his console. "Move! Let's go!"

They were hit before anyone could do anything else.

Owen felt himself lifted off his feet and slam into something hard and unforgiving, winding him completely. The lights flickered, Gwen screamed again when she was thrown through the room and landed next to him. Owen heard Jack call Ianto's name frantically and saw Ianto and John huddled together on the floor, Jack stumbling over to them while the ship groaned and shook. "Ianto! Let's go! Get us out of here!"

"What do I do?" Ianto's voice sounded panicked and unsure.

Jack grabbed him off the floor and hauled him over to his seat, slamming him down into it. The next hit would have thrown Jack back, had Ianto not grabbed his wrist.

"Go! Go! Go!" Jack yelled.

Owen braced his feet against a console and pressed his back against the wall. He was holding Gwen to him with an arm around her waist. John had vanished from sight and he had no idea where Mathasar was.

Ianto hit a button and the ship was thrown forward.

Gwen struggled to her feet and made it over to her console, pulling herself into her seat. She stared at the screen of the console. "They're turning. They're coming." She looked up at Jack. "They're following us!"

Annoyed, Owen yelled, "Yes, all right! We got it!" He saw John getting up from where he'd been thrown over Jack's chair and crawled over to him, helping him to his feet. "All right?"

John nodded.

Jack was standing next to Ianto, grabbing his shoulder. "Go faster!"

"I'm going as fast as I can."

Gwen gasped. "He's still behind us."

Jack looked at her and back at Ianto. "Well, press the turbo. I'm always saying 'press the turbo', right?"

Ianto nodded. "It's right here."

"Press it and hold it down."

Ianto obeyed and Owen grabbed Jack's chair to avoid being thrown backwards with the sudden acceleration.

A computerized voice spoke up. _"The enemy is matching velocity."_

Gwen called, "The enemy is matching velocity!"

Owen rolled his eyes. "We heard it the first time!"

Gwen stared at him, wide-eyed. "God! I'm doing it! I'm repeating the damn computer!"

The front screen flickered and then showed Tosh in the engine room. She was standing calmly, holding onto a chair, but several Thermians behind her were hurrying about, tripping and stumbling, frantically looking around.

"Hi!", Tosh said, the eye in the raging storm. "Just FYI, they're telling me that the generators won't take it, the ship is breaking apart. So slow down a bit, yeah?"

The screen went blank.

John screamed, "What the hell?"

Owen shrugged. "She's always like that. We've got to stop!"

Jack glared at him. "We stop, we die. Keep holding the thruster down, Ianto!"

"You can't hold a turbo down! It's for quick boosts!"

"Oh! Like you know!"

The ship started to tremble, the groan from the engines growing louder. An alarm started to sound.

Gwen's eyes widened. "I remember that sound! That's a bad sound!"

Jack stared forward. "Wait! We might be able to lose them in that cloud there."

Owen looked through the window and swallowed. "I don't think that's a cloud ..."

"Mathasar?" Jack asked. "What is that?"

Mathasar stood from where he'd been huddled in a corner unnoticed by Owen and answered, "It's the Tothian mine field left standing from the Great War of 12185."

Gwen gasped. "Did you say _mines_!?"

But it was too late to question Jack's decision. The first mine hit them and they were thrown to the front. With the next impact, they flew to the side and then there was another and another.

Owen cursed. "Ianto! Could you possibly try not to hit every single one of them?"

"Sorry," Ianto answered. "They're drifting toward us ... I think they're magnetic, drawn to the hull!"

Owen closed his eyes. "We're going to die."

John raised his voice. "We've got to stop."

Jack shook his head. "We're almost through this."

Owen felt the ship starting to vibrate in earnest. He exchanged a worried glance with John who then looked at the turbo button still being held down by Ianto. "Jack!" John yelled.

"Shut up, you have no idea how this works!" Jack replied angrily.

"And you do?"

Before Owen could tell them that they should both shut up, the ship lurched violently to the side and the lights went out. Several consoles sparked and Owen lost his grip, staggering and falling when the ship tipped to the side, screams from the corridors floating in.

It righted itself a moment later, though, and silence enveloped them. Then the emergency lights came on.

Owen coughed, the smoke clearing slowly.

Jack loudly asked, "You okay? You all right?"

"Yeah," Gwen answered.

"Yes," Owen said.

Mathasar nodded silently.

John looked around. "Where's Ianto?"

"Ianto?" Jack called, turning in a circle. His eyes widened and he hurried to crouch in a corner of the room. John followed him immediately, Owen and Gwen remaining on the side-lines but stepping close enough to see what was going on. Ianto was lying on the floor, motionless and with his eyes closed.

Gwen clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, God."

Mathasar looked at Owen questioningly. "Dr. Lazarus."

Owen's eyes widened. "What am I supposed ..." He reminded himself of his role on the show and tugged on his lab coat, before he quickly strode over to Jack and John, kneeling next to them.

John was just hissing at Jack, "Do you now understand that this is not a game?"

Jack ignored him, looking at Owen. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's ..." Owen bit his lip and tapped Ianto's cheek. "... unconscious."

"Brilliant," John muttered.

"What am I supposed to say?" Owen hissed. "I'm not a bloody doctor." He glared at Jack. "And John's right. This quit being funny."

Ianto groaned.

"Hey," John said, leaning over him immediately. "Ianto, all right?"

Ianto grimaced. "My head hurts."

Mathasar stepped closer. "We could bring him to the medical quarters."

John nodded. "Thanks." With Owen, he got Ianto standing, supporting him when he swayed on his feet.

They were on their way to the door when Jack softly said, "I'm sorry."

"Nobody's interested," John replied. He paused to turn back briefly. "You got us into this mess, get us out!"

With that, they left. The last Owen saw was Jack standing in the middle of the bridge lit only by emergency lights, his shoulders slumped and his head down.


	7. Chapter 7

**7.**

In the aftermath, Jack, Gwen and Owen gathered in the room they'd had dinner in, sitting grimly around the table and staring at the schematics of the ship displayed on the flat screen. Jack glowered at all the red blinking areas of the ship, wondering how they could get out of the mess they'd landed in. He knew that he'd probably approached the whole situation a bit too much as if it was a game, but with Ianto resting in his quarters from the hit on the head he'd received and Tosh being led away to the engine room by worried-looking Thermians, it was hard to ignore that this situation was serious.

Deadly even.

Gwen and Owen's expression showed him that they had the same thoughts running through their heads while the computer updated them on the situation in its female, droning voice. _"Forward thruster shaft: 87% damage. AFT vector guards: 96% damage. Level 5 structural breaches in quadrants 32, 34, 40, 43, 58-"_

"What about the engines?" Jack interrupted.

The computer paused a moment, then it repeated, _"Forward thruster shaft: 87% damage."_

Jack rolled his eyes.

Gwen asked gave him a nod and said, "Computer, what about the engines? Why don't we have power?"

" _The Beryllium sphere has fractured under stress."_

Gwen looked at Jack. "The Berryllium sphere is fractured."

"Can it be repaired?" Jack asked.

Gwen looked at the screen. "Computer, can it be repaired?"

Owen muttered something and brushed a hand through his hair in annoyance.

" _Negative,"_ the computer answered. _"Damage to Beryllium sphere irreparable. New source of Beryllium must be secured."_

Gwen sighed. "We need a new Beryllium sphere."

Owen pointed an accusatory finger at Jack, his dark eyes flashing angrily. "You broke the ship! You broke the bloody ship!"

Jack ignored him. "Computer, is there a replacement Beryllium sphere on board?"

Gwen echoed, "Computer, is there a replacement Beryllium sphere on board?"

" _Negative, no reserve Beryllium sphere exists on board."_

Gwen shook her head. "No. We have no extra Beryllium sphere on board."

Owen slapped his palm on the table, causing Gwen to startle. "You know, that is really getting annoying!"

Gwen's green eyes narrowed and she glared at him. "Look, I have one job on this lousy ship. One job! It's stupid, but I'm going to do it. Okay!?"

Jack tried to suppress a smirk when Owen shrank away from her uncharacteristic display of anger. Quietly, he muttered, "Sure, no problem. Don't get your knickers in a twist."

The door opened and Mathasar and Teb entered, both looking serious. Mathasar lowered his head and proclaimed in a shaky voice, "A thousand apologies."

Teb ducked his head as well and added, "We have failed you."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "How have _you_ failed _us_?"

Mathasar shook his head sadly. "We have seen you victorious in much more desperate situations. The fault must lie with us, with the ship."

Gwen shot Jack a glare that screamed at him to explain the truth. He felt uncomfortable about the Thermians placing the blame on themselves, too, but he didn't see how telling them would help. "No, Mathasar. It's not your fault and it's not the ship's fault. It's … it's my fault. We … we screwed-"

"We're not the people you think we are," Gwen interrupted his stuttering.

Mathasar frowned. "I don't understand."

Owen got up and approached the Thermians, burying his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. "Don't you make any telly shows on your planet? Any theatre, films?"

Mathasar shrugged. "The historical documents of your culture ... yes, in fact we have begun to document our own history, learning from your example."

Gwen shook her head. "No, not historical documents. They're not all historical documents. I mean ... surely you don't think _Game of Thrones_ is a ..."

The way Mathasar and Teb scrunched up their faces and shook their heads made her pause. Mathasar took a deep breath and with a mournful expression said, "That poor family."

Owen rolled his eyes. "Oh, dear!" He turned to look at Jack. "We're screwed."

Gwen cleared her throat and leaned forward. "Mathasar, is there no one on your planet who behaves in a way that is contrary to reality?"

Mathasar's eyes widened slightly. "Ah! You speak of ..." He turned to Teb and they muttered softly to each other, before Mathasar continued, "Deception? Lies?"

Gwen gave a nod.

"We have only recently become aware of these concepts. In our dealings with Sarris. Often, Sarris will say one thing and do another. Promise us mercy but deliver destruction. It is a concept we are beginning to learn at some great cost." He paused for a moment and then smiled bravely. "But if you are saying that any of you could have traits in common with Sarris ..." He started to laugh awkwardly, as did Teb.

Owen glared at Jack. "Screwed!" he repeated.

In that moment, the screen at the front of the room switched from the ship's schematics to the engine room and Tosh was smiling at them. "Hey, Captain. Listen, we found some Beryllium on a nearby planet. We might be able to get there if we ..." She took a steadying breath. "... if we re-configure the solar matrix in … parallel for …endothermic propulsion. What do you think?"

Jack had no idea what she was talking about but everything was better than being sitting ducks. "We'll do that!"

Tosh turned to the other technicians looming behind her. "That was correct. Amazing job, guys! Let's clap each other on the shoulders."

xxx

"Do you think it's possible that this is just a big nightmare?" John asked.

Ianto opened his eyes and glanced around his private quarters – a moderately-sized, cosy yet modern furnished room with an adjoining bathroom – and blinked at John in confusion. "Do _you_ think that's possible? That one of us is just making this up in their head?"

John gave a wry smile, leaning back in the chair he'd dragged over to sit next to the bed. "I'm hopeful."

Ianto chuckled, but he didn't say anything. No good answer came to mind, especially not with the killer headache he was experiencing. Whatever medicine the Thermians were practising, though, was starting to show effect. The pain was receding ever so slowly and he started to feel better.

"Are you all right?" John asked, worry in his blue eyes.

"I'm fine. Just a headache."

John swallowed visibly and the crow's feet around his eyes deepened when his face pulled into a pained expression. "I was scared."

Ianto nodded. "Me, too."

John stared at him. "Don't you think … we could manage and maybe try again? We don't have to get married or adopt kids or anything like that."

Ianto pulled a face. "You _want_ kids."

"I though you wanted that, too."

Ianto bit his lip.

"Not with me, though," John continued with a sad smile, seemingly reading his mind.

Ianto took John's hand, squeezing gently. "I would love to have kids with you," he said earnestly. "But it's not fair to you that I …"

"You're in love with him." John sighed. "For what it's worth, I think he's still in love with you."

"He's in love with himself. Mainly."

"Mainly", John replied with a short nod. He cleared his throat and shook his head, pulling his hand out of Ianto's grasp. "You should rest for a bit."

Ianto nodded reluctantly. He didn't feel like resting, not really. He felt like doing something, even though he had no idea what it was. "Fine."

xxx

When Jack approached Ianto's door, John was just leaving. As soon as he saw Jack, he paused and took a deep breath before he said, "Hey!"

It sounded casual but Jack knew better. It was anything but.

"Hey!" he answered nonetheless. "Is he all right?"

John nodded quickly. "He's fine."

"Good, I need him."

When Jack tried to walk past John, he felt his arm being grabbed tightly. "What for?" John asked. "He needs rest."

Jack glowered at John's hand until he removed it, then he looked into his eyes determinedly. "We're going down to the planet to get a Beryllium sphere."

John raised an eyebrow. "And he's needed?"

"Yes." He jutted his chin out challengingly. "What's your problem?"

"My problem is that you're a selfish dick!"

Jack gaped at John, taken aback for a moment. "Now wait a minute. All of us are doing this for the Thermians."

"We're all only here because you lied to them, Jack!"

"I didn't force anyone to come!"

"But you made it sound like child's play and now we're stuck here."

"We're looking for a way out."

"This is not _Galaxy Quest_ , Jack!" John exploded, taking a threatening step towards him. Jack found himself backing off one step and steeled himself from withdrawing any further. "This is real life where real people make real decisions and where real villains kill the good guys! Even you!"

Jack stared at him. "Don't you think I know that? I'm aware of the situation."

"And yet, Ianto was almost killed!"

"So, that's what this is about? It's about Ianto?"

"It's about all of us!"

"If you want to be angry at someone that he broke up with you, then you should be angry with _him_! It's not my fault!"

John scoffed. "Of course it is, because he still loves you!"

Jack froze.

John ducked his head and his shoulders slumped. "He's still in love with you, even after everything you did to him."

Jack swallowed and hoarsely replied, "I didn't screw our relationship up."

"You didn't?"

"He did that himself! I didn't ask for much, but it was too much for him. Nobody seems to understand that he started it all because he didn't trust me."

John stared at him, then he laughed incredulously. "So instead of making a clean cut like an adult and breaking up with him, you proved to him that he really can't trust you."

Jack didn't answer. No answer would have been good enough. He knew, because he'd run through all of them in his own head and he hated himself for each and every single one.

"You know," John said, "shagging Gwen is one thing, because you were already on your way to splitting up. Manipulating his career on the show is quite another thing – and don't pretend you didn't give the producers the idea of sacrificing Laredo for the greater good. It didn't matter in the end, though, because the show was cancelled anyway." John stepped closer again, lowering his voice. "What you don't seem to get is that he needed time and you weren't willing to give it to him. You humiliated him, Jack. Not everyone's like you. We can't all be _like you_."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "It was well-intentioned."

"You outed him at a press conference, Jack! How was that even remotely well-intentioned?"

Jack swallowed. "I don't have to explain to you of all people why I did it."

"No, you don't, because I know why you did it. I'm your best friend, I know you better than you know yourself. Ianto, though … he would deserve an explanation."

With that, John turned away and left.

Jack stared after him until he was out of sight and only then did he release the breath he'd been holding for quite some time. Shaking his head, he steeled himself. It didn't help to cry over spilled milk and they had a job to do. With that firmly in the forefront of his mind, Jack entered Ianto's quarters after knocking. "Hey!" he said. Ianto turned his head, looking up at him from his position on the bed. Jack gave a smile. "Do you think you could come with us down to the planet?"

Ianto looked at him quizzically. "Why?"

"We need a new Beryllium sphere," Jack answered. "To get the ship working again."

Ianto sighed deeply and sat up carefully. "Yes, I guess ..." He grimaced and pressed a hand against his forehead. "I guess I can do that."

Jack smiled. "Good. Thanks, Ianto."

xxx

"What's this?" Owen asked when Tosh handed him a device. It was rectangular and as big as a small book, fitting comfortably into his hand. A screen was embedded into the top half and it had several round dials and switches on the bottom half.

"You should know it," Tosh answered.

Owen looked down at the device quizzically.

Tosh sighed but gave him an indulgent smile. "It's a surface mapper, you idiot. I have programmed it to the coordinates of a Beryllium sphere of sufficient density."

Owen stared at her in amazement. "You sound like you've done this billions of times already."

She shrugged. "Well, I kind of did."

Owen smirked.

Tosh caught his hand, squeezing briefly before letting go again. "Be careful."

Owen looked at her earnestly. "'Course."

He turned to enter the shuttle the team was going to use to get down to the planet. Owen wasn't too fond of the idea of taking the small ship. The thought of entering the atmosphere in something the size of a minivan scared him. He walked up the ramp and towards the front of the ship, where the complicated navigation system was. At least the seats looked comfortable.

"Owen!" Tosh called. He turned around, saw her smiling teasingly. "You may be dead but you will avenge us!"

"Shut up, Tosh," he replied and took a seat behind the pilot's chair, buckling himself in.

John was already there, sitting behind the co-pilot's seat, staring out the window into the busy hangar where Thermians were checking on the other shuttles. He looked pale and tired.

"All right, mate?" Owen asked. "You sure you want to come with us?"

John startled out of his thoughts and cleared his throat, turning to look at him with one eyebrow raised. "Are you saying I can't?"

"I'm just saying … you didn't seem overly happy about all of this from the start."

John just glared at him. "Of course, compared to you being so ecstatic."

Owen had to give him that and grimaced.

John sighed and turned back to the window. "Somebody has to keep a clear head with all of you running about like crazy people."

Owen had the feeling that John wanting to accompany them had more to do with Ianto than with the rest of them, but he didn't comment on it. Some things were just too obvious to point out.

Ianto chose that moment to quietly sidle up to them anyway. "John, do you have a minute?"

John looked up at him quizzically, but nodded quickly and unbuckled his seatbelt. "Sure." He got up and followed Ianto to the front of the ship.

Owen could barely hear the muffled conversation while Gwen dropped into the seat behind him. "You're coming with us?"

"If I'm gonna die, I'll do it properly," Owen replied distractedly, his eyes fixed on the way Ianto stepped closer to John and took his hand.

"Are they making up?" Gwen asked curiously.

"If you'd shut up for a minute, I could hear."

She gave his arm a playful slap but kept quiet, leaning forward so that her chin was almost resting on his shoulder.

John shook his head. "I'm just trying to-"

"I know what you're trying to do," Ianto interrupted him. "I appreciate it. Just ..." He leaned closer and Owen couldn't hear what he said next, but John wrapped his arms around Ianto's waist and pulled him close.

Owen whispered, "I think they're breaking up for real."

Before Gwen could answer, Mathasar's voice behind them interrupted with Jack's catchphrase from the show, "Never give up, never surrender."

Then Jack walked past them towards the front of the ship. He paused when he saw Ianto and John break apart slowly. Owen expected him to interrupt them with a lewd comment or a bad joke but instead, Jack remained standing and waited until John had cupped Ianto's cheek for a moment before moving away.

"So," he said then, clearing his throat. "Can we go?"


	8. Chapter 8

**8.**

Jack breathed a sigh of relief when Ianto managed a relatively smooth landing on the planet's rocky surface. "Good job," he said, glancing at him.

Ianto nodded appreciatively and gave him a small smile.

For a moment, they all just sat there in silence, looking out the windows at the rocky desert spread around them – the alien world ... then they heard a loud wooshing sound and John gave an alarmed yelp. Jack turned to the hatch at the back of the ship, where Gwen was standing with her hand on the lever.

Even though it was way too late, John snapped, "Don't open that! It's an alien planet! Is there air!? You don't know, do you?!"

Gwen looked at him with her eyebrows raised and then took a demonstrative deep breath. "Seems okay."

Owen sighed. "We're all going to die."

xxx

Ianto looked around carefully while they exited the shuttle, the stun gun the Thermians had given each of them before departure clutched in his hand. The world around them was yellow, orange and beige, bleak and unfriendly. The sun was burning down hot and he already felt stifled in his long-sleeved jumpsuit.

Gwen stopped next to him, her boot whirling up some sand and scratching rock when she dragged one foot experimentally. "Here we go," she murmured to him and he gave a tense nod.

Jack cleared his throat and put his hands on his hips. "Which way, Owen?"

Owen fiddled with the surface mapper and then pointed towards the flat desert. "This way."

They all turned to the pointed direction.

"Wait!" Owen turned the device around. "No, sorry, that way." He nodded in the opposite direction.

Gwen smirked. "You were holding it upside down, weren't you?"

"Shut up."

Gwen grinned at Ianto. "You know, with the device and everything, I actually thought he was smart for a second."

Ianto just shrugged, suppressing a smirk.

Owen glared at her. "You think you could do better, _Tawny_?"

"Hey! Watch it," Gwen warned, despising the first name of her character on the show.

John groaned. "We're screwed ... we're so screwed ..."

"Would everyone just _shut up_?" Jack asked, irritated. "If we want to finish this mission, we have to use some self-control."

Owen snorted. "Self-control? That's funny coming from the bloke that slept with every moon princess and Terrakian slave girl on the show and rolled around the hay with two colleagues at the same time in real life!"

Silence slammed into the group. Ianto felt like he had been punched. For just a moment, he wished that Owen was talking about someone else, that there had been two affairs at the same time after Ianto had ended things, that he'd indulged in flings … but the way Jack pressed his lips together and the way Gwen avoided Ianto's eyes told him otherwise.

Ianto cleared his throat. "At the same time?"

Gwen gave Owen a shove. "You absolute …," she hissed and took a deep breath. "You idiot!"

Owen blushed and ducked his head. Ianto looked at John and noticed that he, too, was avoiding his eyes. He swallowed when the meaning hit home. "What?" he asked, stunned. "John, are you kidding me? You _knew_?" He glared at Jack, who crossed his arms defensively. "Are you fucking kidding me? While we were together?"

"Were we?" Jack snapped. "Together, that is! I didn't notice with all the sneaking around we were doing! I had to go to the BAFTAs with _someone_ and you refused to even sit next to me!"

"I thought you two went as friends!"

Gwen stepped closer, one hand raised placatingly. "We did! Ianto, it was … just once and it was an accident."

"So, what? He just happened to fall on you naked?!"

John interrupted them loudly, "Is this really the time to discuss this?"

Jack ignored him, instead stepping closer to Ianto, his blue eyes narrowed angrily. "If you had had the courage to own up to our relationship, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Oh, so it's my fault?" Ianto asked.

"No, obviously, it's mine!" Jack answered sarcastically. "Because going out with John for everyone to see wasn't a problem for you while going out with _me_ was just too much _exposure_!"

"You were my first, Jack, I wasn't ready!"

"Oh, but you were ready with him?"

"Because you outed me at a bloody press conference without my consent before I got together with him!" He glared at Jack. "If you would just have had a little bit of patience ..."

"I was patient for three years," Jack hissed. "Three years of being your dirty little secret."

"That doesn't make it all right to fuck Gwen."

"I know! It just happened!"

"Excuse me!" Owen yelled. "We are on an alien planet looking for a Beryllium sphere to repair our space ship! Could we focus on that, please?"

Jack stared challengingly at Ianto, who took a deep breath. "Yes," he said. "Let's focus on that." He gripped his gun tighter and stalked off into the direction Owen had pointed out, breathing deeply to try and calm down.

John fell into step beside him. "Ianto-"

"Leave me alone," he snapped. "You knew! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to hurt you."

Ianto shook his head. "Well, you failed."

xxx

They had found a small valley tucked away in-between the rock formations and were now watching it from a safe distance. Several silvery balls were shimmering in the sunlight – Beryllium spheres ready for the taking. The only reason they hadn't acted yet were several carved openings in the rocks, leading into darkness. They didn't know who exactly had created them, but whoever did had also crafted the troughs filled with water set up in several places within the valley.

Owen hummed thoughtfully. "Must be some sort of mining facility."

Gwen frowned, looking around the valley again. "Where are the miners?"

John let out a breath. "Something bad happened here."

Shaking his head at John, Ianto said, "They're probably inside. Will you relax?"

Jack had acquired some futuristic-looking binoculars from somewhere and was looking down into the valley with them. Gwen couldn't suppress a weary sigh about that – they weren't that far up. She could watch the valley comfortably from here without any help. Jack lowered the binoculars. "Can't see anybody. Getting one of the spheres shouldn't be a problem. Let's go."

In that moment, Gwen noticed movement in one of the openings and she instinctively grabbed Jack's arm. "No, wait." She could tell that the others saw it too, now. Everyone went quiet all of a sudden. A short blue creature was leaving the mine heading towards one of the troughs. At first glance, it looked like a child, with its scrawny limbs and huge eyes in a round face. A few other aliens joined the first one, emerging from the mine. Gwen was smiling widely. "Look at that. Will you look at that? They look like little children."

Owen asked softly, "Could they be the miners?"

"They're so cute!"

John frowned deeply. "Of course they're cute _now_ ," he muttered an answer. "But in a second, they're going to turn mean and ugly somehow and then there are going to be a million more of them."

Owen gave an exasperated sigh. "Would you give the negativity a rest? Why did you join us in the first place?"

"Because I thought that the ship was going to explode sooner or later. Now I'm thinking that those creatures will eat me for dinner."

Gwen only listened with half an ear to the others, too focussed on watching the miners. Then, she noticed something: one of them was limping, dragging its foot behind it with a pained expression. Her heart broke. "Oh, look!" she said and the others turned to see what she'd noticed. "It's hurt," Gwen said and rose in a crouch. "Hi!" she called. "Hey, there, little ..."

She was yanked down by John before she could finish the sentence. "Jesus, did you ever _watch_ the show?"

Gwen shook him off but didn't try to call attention to them again. Instead, she watched the other aliens approaching the hurt one and whispering a chant. "What are they saying?"

Ianto frowned. "Gorignak?"

Owen gave a nod and a teasing smile. "That's Welsh."

Gwen and Ianto stared at him in reproach.

"You're right, too many vowels."

Jack made a pensive noise. "Looks like they're going to help the little one."

The other aliens crowded around the limping one, helping it over to the pool. Gwen's heart warmed and she smiled brightly. Then, while the hurt one drank carefully, the others nodded at one another … and suddenly, their teeth grew razor sharp, their faces turning predatory and deadly and they descended upon the hurt alien with viciousness.

A scream was heard from the alien and Gwen echoed it, startled, and she had to look away. "Oh my God, they're eating their friend!"

John cursed. "I am so sick of being right!"

Owen nodded. "Let's get out of here before one of those things kills John."

"Wait a minute," Jack said. "We're not going anywhere without a Beryllium sphere. We need a plan."

Gwen hated when he was right. They needed that sphere.

"Owen," Jack said, "we need a diversion to clear those things out of the compound, then Gwen, John and I go down to get the sphere. Ianto, get up on that ridge, and if you see them come back, give me a signal. All right?"

"Why does this sound so familiar?" Gwen asked with a frown.

John sighed. " _Assault on Voltareck III_. Episode 25, I think," he answered. Then he blanched. "Oh God!"

Ianto was looking at Jack sceptically. "The one with the hologram? The wall of fire?"

Gwen scoffed. "How the hell is Owen supposed to project a hologram?"

John tapped Jack's shoulder. "We're doing episode 25, Jack?"

"It's a rough plan, John!" Jack answered testily. "What does it matter if we're doing episode 25 or not?"

"Because I guest-starred and died in episode 25!"

Owen snorted. "This is ridiculous. Why are we listening to Jack? Must I remind you that he is wearing a costume, not a uniform? He's no more equipped to lead us than John is. No offense."

Gwen glanced down into the valley to make sure they were still in the clear … and froze. "Guys," she interrupted what seemed to become a major row. "Look. They're gone."

The others silenced.

John cleared his throat nervously. "Where did they go? Back inside?"

"I don't know."

Owen rolled his eyes. "Nobody was watching?"

Jack clapped his hands. "All right. All right. Listen up. Here's the plan. Gwen, John and I will go down and get a sphere. Owen, you set up a perimeter, and Ianto, you're the lookout. You see anything at all, you give us a signal. All right?"

Gwen looked at the other three and shrugged. John nodded, Ianto just rolled his eyes and Owen made a dismissive noise, but nodded. Apparently, nobody had a better plan.

Ianto asked, "What kind of a signal?"

Jack shrugged. "Any kind of signal."

"Like a bird?"

Jack stared at him as if he'd gone mad and held his vox up. "We have these!"

"Right," Ianto said, his eyes widening. He blushed, grabbing his own vox from his belt.

"Okay," Jack said. "Let's go."

xxx

Jack ducked behind a rock, his gun raised, looking towards the mine. When he saw no movement, he quickly crawled over the dirty ground behind the next rock, peeking at the mine again, and then threw himself towards the next hiding place. The sun glared down at him, seeming brighter since it was reflected by the sandy ground. Nobody seemed to be around, the aliens must have returned to work. Jack jumped, rolling over his shoulder, and ducked behind the next rock.

Gwen and John walked past him. Casually, Gwen asked, "Does the rolling help?"

Jack blushed slightly and got up, brushing his uniform off. "It helps," he muttered.

"Where's your gun?"

Jack realized that the stun gun wasn't in his belt anymore and cursed softly, looking around for it and finally finding it behind one of the rocks he'd been hiding behind. He quickly caught up to Gwen and John.

John glanced at him reproachfully. "Stop being an idiot."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

xxx

Ianto smirked when, from his post up on the ridge of the valley, he saw Jack recovering his gun and tucking it into his belt. "That looked more graceful when you did it for the cameras."

Jack leaned closer to Gwen, talking to her and Ianto bit his lip, trying to suppress a wave of fury and focussed on watching the valley instead.

It was too late to be jealous and too petty to be angry, really. Jack, and their relationship from back then, was far behind him – or at least he liked to think so. His eyes found John, reconsidering … but no. Things between him and John had ended for a reason and that reason was still present: Ianto hadn't been entirely able to get over Jack and in the last few months, he'd started to fear that being with John was mainly him trying to get some part of their relationship back. John was Jack's best friend after all, was similar in his views and behaviour and taste … he didn't deserve Ianto only being with him when he was nothing but a consolation prize.

It had all come crashing down with the proposal, with that very serious step forwards. Ianto had found himself unable to say yes, too scared to hurt John further down the road, because John had been nothing but good to him, had helped him after the surprising coming-out, while the press had been eager to get interviews, while his every step had been watched, while affairs with various men he'd worked with had been invented and lies about him visiting seedy clubs in London had been told by those willing to receive payment for a good story.

He'd become the teenage star who'd lost his way, then the gay man who'd kept his identity a secret. He'd put on a brave face when confronted with the headlines, had given interviews to those journalists he trusted and built his relationship with John without hiding, learning from past mistakes.

The press kept re-telling the worst things about him until the story wasn't valuable anymore. The only things they wrote about him these days were romantic and overly-sweet one-paragraph texts about his relationship with John displaying pictures of them shopping or at conventions or in restaurants.

Ianto wasn't above admitting that he'd played his part in his and Jack's relationship crashing so spectacularly. Jack was more open about everything to pretty much everyone, a personality trait that had clashed with Ianto's more private nature from the start. Jack had pushed, quite often, to make their relationship official and Ianto had turned him down – at the beginning out of fear and later on because their relationship had become rocky. Jack had made it easy to blame him entirely, especially when the others started to get annoyed with him as well. He could be a selfish jerk … but the way he fought for the Thermians, how he seemed to come alive under their adoring eyes, how he managed to unite them back into a semblance of the team they once were … Ianto had to admit that Jack made it hard to fall out of love with him.

He paused in his scanning of the valley when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and used the binoculars to see what was going on … and froze.

xxx

Jack, John and Gwen pushed against the heavy sphere they'd chosen and it started to roll. Jack grinned triumphantly. "Never give up! Never surrender!"

Gwen scoffed. "Oh, shut up!"

"Jack!" they heard Ianto call from the ridge. He was waving at them wildly, jumping up and down.

Jack cursed, "Damn! He was supposed to use the vox."

Ianto started to run towards them, stumbling over the rocky ground in his haste to reach the only entrance to the valley – a dusty little alley cutting through the hills. "They're coming! Run, Jack, run!" He was pointing at something behind them frantically and they turned around.

Jack gasped when he saw a herd of the little blue aliens approach, their pointy teeth bared, shouting angrily.

"Oh God," Gwen whispered.

"They're everywhere," Ianto said, reaching them. "They're everywhere."

Jack shook his head and turned back to the sphere. "Come on. Let's go. Let's go!" He pushed against the ball of Beryllium again and the others quickly followed suit, rolling the sphere towards the alley. "Hurry!"

"Faster!" Ianto spurred them on, falling into step beside him.

Jack couldn't ignore the fact that the shouts of the aliens were growing louder – closer – and John groaned when he glanced over his shoulder.

Jack gave him a push forwards. "Don't look back! Don't look back!"

John shook his head. "We're not going to make it. I knew it! I knew this was going to kill me."

But he stayed with them, rolling the sphere through the alley. Jack was relieved to see the shuttle and happy that they'd parked so close to the mines. Owen was already waiting for them on the lowered ramp at the back of the craft.

"You were supposed to distract them!" Jack snapped when Owen joined them and helped.

He raised his eyebrows. "What with? Magic?"

With that, they gave the sphere one last push and it rolled up the ramp and into the shuttle. The aliens were getting closer.

Ianto ran into the ship first, already on his way to the cockpit. "I need a few seconds to close the ramp," he called over his shoulder.

Jack gave him a nod and pushed Gwen and John inside.

Owen pulled his stun gun and stood at the foot of the ramp. "Go ahead!" he said grimly. "I'll stop them until Ianto can close the ramp."

Jack shook his head, pulling his gun as well. "There's no time. Get in."

"Of course! I forgot you've got to be the hero, haven't you? Heaven forbid anybody else gets the spotlight! Oh, no, Jack Harkness ..."

Jack couldn't stop himself. He punched him and Owen fell back into the ship, John clumsily catching him.

Gwen stared at Jack in disbelief. "What the hell?"

"Stay inside!" he snapped at her and turned to face the aliens.

A few breathless seconds passed during which Jack kept his eyes on the herd of aliens approaching them and then Ianto called, "Get in!"

The ramp started to close. At the same time, the engines hummed to life and the ship hovered a few centimetres over the ground, gaining height slowly and tilting to the side a little while Ianto tried to get control over it. Gwen grabbed Jack's arm. "Jack, come on!"

He turned away and jumped onto the ramp. The ship jolted. Jack stumbled and tripped and before he knew it, he was falling back out and onto the hard sand. The last thing he saw was Gwen's shocked face and he heard her scream Ianto's name, then the ramp of the shuttle closed … and Jack was alone.


	9. Chapter 9

**9.**

Gwen stared out the window embedded into the ramp and saw Jack get to his feet again, looking after them for a moment before turning back to face the aliens. "Ianto, turn around!" she yelled.

"I can't, it's on auto-pilot!"

Owen pressed against the glass next to Gwen. She jumped when she saw the creatures hitting Jack over the head with a stone. He dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"Oh God," she muttered.

"It's always him who gets to be the hero," Owen replied. He looked worried. "That idiot!"

xxx

Jack slowly became aware of his surroundings again when something wet brushed over his face. He groaned and opened his eyes, scrambling back in shock when he saw a huge creature hovering over him. It looked like a buffalo with its shaggy fur and the mule-like head. It didn't follow him, instead just licked over his arm. Jack wiped his face and got up slowly, taking another few steps back just to be on the safe side. He realized that he was still clutching his stun gun and pointed it at the creature for good measure but it didn't follow him, instead just standing there looking at him. Jack looked around and noticed that he was standing in a kind of an arena. Rocks were piled up around him – no exit was visible – and on the ridges, way above him, the little blue aliens were standing and chanting.

He needed a moment to figure out what they were saying.

"Gorignak?" he repeated and looked at the buffalo. "Is that your name?"

The buffalo snorted.

"Yeah," Jack muttered. "Didn't think so."

xxx

Gwen, Ianto, Owen and John stormed into the ship's transport chamber where Tosh was already awaiting them, frantically tapping orders into what had been the control panel on the show. Most of the room was taken up by the beamer itself – a round platform on which whoever needed to be transported up or down would stand.

Gwen activated her vox. "Jack? Jack? Can you hear me?"

It took a moment, but then his raspy voice filtered through the vox. _"Yeah, Gwen. You got me."_

They all let out a sigh of relief. Jack hadn't answered in the last fifteen minutes. That he did so now was a good sign.

Gwen smiled. "Thank God! Are you okay?"

" _Yeah. As a matter of fact, I've got Gorignak staring me in the face right now. But, you know what? I think I can take him."_

Gwen nodded at Tosh and she switched on the screen in the control panel, zooming in on the planet and finding Jack standing in an arena opposite what seemed to be a buffalo. Gwen was relieved that he wasn't in any immediate danger. The aliens were keeping to the ridge of the arena, apparently not interested in hurting him at the moment. "Jack, we're going to use the digital conveyor to get you out of there."

She saw him raise the vox to his lips. _"The digital conveyor?"_

"Yes."

" _You mean I'm going to be diced into cubes and sent up there in a million pieces?"_

Tosh nodded and answered loudly enough for Gwen's vox to pick up her voice. "Exactly."

" _Well, you know what? I think I'll take my chances with Gorignak."_

Gwen saw Ianto roll his eyes before he frowned in concern again. She knew he felt guilty because he'd been unable to deactivate the auto-pilot before they'd arrived back on the ship. Going back by shuttle would take too long now. The idea to use the digital conveyer had been Tosh's when they'd been about half-way back. Instant transport. Tosh thought she was able to do it. Gwen thought they didn't have any other choice. "We're getting you out right now. It's perfectly safe." She turned to Teb, who'd showed them the way to the transport chamber from the hangar and was now hovering in a corner. "Isn't it, Teb?"

The Thermian looked almost startled to be asked and then cleared his throat awkwardly. "It has never been successfully tested."

She stared at him until her vox sounded with Jack's voice. _"What did he say?"_

"Hold, please." She deactivated the channel.

Teb explained, "Theoretically, the mechanism is fully operational. However, it was built to accommodate your … anatomy, not ours. But now that Sergeant Chen is here, she can operate it. It was designed watching her motions from the historical documents."

Tosh swallowed, her dark eyes wide. "I … I mean, I can't. I … can supervise."

Owen cursed and grabbed Gwen's vox. "Jack, we're going to test it."

" _On what?"_

Ianto pointed at the screen. "How about that buffalo?"

" _Hey, I'm doing all right with the buffalo."_

Gwen nodded at Tosh. "Please, Tosh. And hurry."

Tosh nodded and prepared to beam, her shoulders tense and her jaw set grimly ... when Teb suddenly let out a high-pitched squeal, making all of them jump.

Owen glared at him. "What the hell?"

Teb shrugged with a sheepish expression. "I'm sorry. It's very exciting to watch the master at the controls. The operation of the conveyor is more … art than science."

They all stared at him.

Tosh sighed. "Great."

Gwen spoke into the vox. "Stand back, Jack."

Tosh cleared her throat and adjusted the controls, zeroing in on the buffalo. Then she hit start. There was a blinding light on the transporter's platform and then the buffalo appeared on the field but … Gwen turned around, gagging around a sudden lump of nausea.

John was deathly pale and Ianto put a hand over his mouth. "Oh my God."

Gwen turned back slowly to stare at what was apparently the right body having been transported. The only problem was that it now seemed to be turned inside out. The ribs were sticking up in the air and the organs were still working frantically to support life.

The buffalo groaned one more time and then died.

Tosh took a deep breath. "Oh."

" _What? What was that?"_ Jack asked.

Owen quickly took the vox from Gwen. "Uh …," he said. "Nothing."

" _I heard a groan or something."_

Ianto shook his head. "Oh, no," he replied with a nervous laugh. "Everything's fine."

Teb said, "But the animal is inside out."

Gwen glared at him while Jack answered, _"I heard that. It turned inside out? Did I just hear that the animal turned inside out? Hello?"_

Gwen snagged the vox from Owen's hand. "Hold, please."

" _Hey, wait a minute. Guys!"_ He paused for a moment. _"If the buffalo is gone, why are they still yelling 'Gorignak'?"_

Ianto's eyes widened and he turned to Teb. "Teb, hit the translation circuit."

Teb did as asked and the chanting changed, the translation software letting them hear the garbled translation. _"Rock!"_ the aliens chanted. _"Rock! Rock!"_

Gwen looked at Owen. "Jack. I don't think the buffalo was Gorignak."

" _Oh, really?"_ Jack asked sarcastically and then sighed. _"That would have been too easy I guess."_

Tosh was still frantically tapping away at the transporter controls. Ianto stepped closer to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Can you fix it?"

She answered, "Well, there's nothing to fix, really. It works. There's just some options I need to deactivate."

Owen cursed. "You should think that the option 'transport alive' would be default."

" _Oh, shit!"_ Jack said. _"Kids!"_ he yelled. _"I found Gorignak."_

They all focussed on the screen again and gasped when they saw part of the rock formation that had been lying in the middle of the arena starting to move. The rocks rolled around and finally formed a humanoid giant. And it went for Jack.

John gulped. "Oh, fuck!" he said. "It's a rock!"

"Jack, run!" Ianto yelled into the vox and Jack didn't hesitate to obey.

Tosh followed him with the transporter's camera and they all cringed when he stumbled over the ground and fell.

" _Digitize me!"_ he screamed.

Gwen looked at Tosh. "Come on."

She shook her head and took a step back. "Not me."

"Come on! They based it on your hand movements."

Tosh shook her head. "Am I the only one who saw that thing inside out? No, no, no, no. I … I'm not the person who kills him. I'm not even Tech Sergeant Chen. I'm Tosh Sato. I'm an actress!"

Owen snagged the vox. "Tosh won't do it, Jack," he said angrily. "You're just going to have to kill it."

" _Kill it?"_ Jack asked, hiding behind a rock. _"Well, I'm open to any suggestions."_

Ianto leaned towards the vox, his eyes riveted to the screen. "Go for the eyes, like in episode 22."

" _It doesn't have any eyes, Ianto."_

"Go for the mouth or the throat, its vulnerable spots!"

" _It's a rock! It doesn't have any vulnerable spots!"_

John gasped and quickly grabbed the vox from Owen. "I know! Construct a weapon. Look around you. Can you form some sort of rudimentary lathe?"

Gwen saw Jack kick the rock he was hiding behind. _"A lathe? Get off the line, MacGyver! Owen, you're my advisor. Advise me."_

Owen balled his hands into fists and closed his eyes, clearly trying to think through the haze of panic they all felt. "Well, you're just going to have to figure out what it wants. What is its motivation?"

Jack left his hiding spot when the rock monster got too close and ducked behind another one. _"Are you kidding me? It's a rock monster. It doesn't have motivation."_

Owen cursed. "See, that's your problem, Jack. You were never serious about the craft."

For a moment, they only heard Jack frantically drawing in breaths, then he said gently, _"Tosh, can you hear me? Tosh, are you there?"_

"Maybe," she answered hesitantly.

" _You can do it, Tosh. It's up to you."_

"Oh, no, no, no, Jack, I'll just ... I'll just mess it up."

" _You did it for five years on the show. Do it now."_

Tosh shook her head. "That was on the show. I'm not that girl."

" _Tosh, you never forgot a line! You never missed a mark!"_

Tosh closed her eyes. "That's not me anymore, Jack."

" _It is you! You can do this, Tosh. I know in my heart that you're going to save my life."_

Tosh drew a deep breath. "I am?"

" _No doubt about it."_

Owen put a hand on Tosh's shoulder and nodded at her. "He's right. If anyone can do it, then you can. You weren't just a whiz kid on screen."

She smiled at him.

" _Now, Tosh!"_ Jack screamed and they saw him running, looking for another hiding spot and finding none. The rock monster approached, roaring loudly.

Determinedly, Tosh zipped up her uniform and took position, her fingers flying over the keys.

" _Tosh? I don't want to die down here. Digitize me, Tosh."_

The rock monster raised its arm, ready to strike and Tosh pushed the button. Just a few seconds later, Jack was lying on the transport platform, his arms crossed over his head protectively.

"Jack!" Gwen said, relieved, and hurried over to him.

Tosh laughed. "Oh, wow!"

Owen put a hand on her shoulder. "Good job, Tosh."

Teb looked at her with something akin to adoration. "Tech Sergeant Chen," he whispered.

"Yes!" Jack shouted triumphantly, getting to his feet. He ran over and whisked Tosh into an embrace. "I knew it! That's my girl!" Tosh laughed and let him press a kiss to her forehead. "Good job, everyone, in fact!" Jack said, looking at them all.

Ianto nodded. "Glad you're okay," he muttered.

"Yeah, well," Jack answered, standing with one arm around Tosh. "In the nick of time." For a moment, they were all quiet, just basking in the feeling of success, then Jack clapped his hands. "Well, back to business. Did we get the Beryllium sphere installed?"

Teb smiled widely. "Yes. We are back to full power."

"Great! Engines and pods?"

"Fully operational."

"Perfect! You can drop us off on Earth and you kids can be back on the road to your home planet before supper."

Teb shook his head. "Oh, no, sir. We have no reason to go back."

Jack laughed. "Sure you do. Family, friends ..."

Teb just stared at him quizzically.

"Come on," Jack said.

"We are all that is left," Teb said.

Gwen felt as if she'd been punched. She put a hand over her lips and blinked against a well of tears.

Ianto swallowed. "You never said."

"We didn't know that," Jack said at the same time.

They glanced at each other and then ducked their heads.

John gave a sigh. "Damn."

Gwen wiped her eyes. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"I'm sure you are," Teb replied with a nod, his eyes shining, but he smiled when he focussed on Jack and held his vox out for Jack to take. "Sir, I have hailed Mathasar."

Owen cleared his throat and Jack visibly shook himself out of his shock, grabbing the vox. "Mathasar, meet us up on the command deck."

No answer came.

"Mathasar."

Gwen caught Jack's uneasy glance, catching herself thinking that this would be the point in a script where the bad guys would enter the room.

"Mathasar, Laliari!" Jack looked at Teb. "Why can't we reach them?"

At that moment, the door opened and Sarris strode in.


	10. Chapter 10

**10.**

Jack stumbled as he was pushed into a room and only Ianto grabbing him kept him from falling. Jack noticed with trepidation that they'd been brought to one of the airlocks – an empty room with yellow markings on the floor and only a bulkhead separating them from space. Whatever Sarris had in mind for them, it couldn't be good. The looks on Owen, John, Gwen and Ianto's faces told him that they thought the same.

He only noticed Mathasar sitting propped up against a wall in the corner of the airlock when he groaned quietly. "Mathasar," he said and quickly went over to kneel beside him. Gwen joined him while Owen, John and Ianto took position between them and Sarris, who sent all but two men away with a wave of his hand.

Sarris's soldiers were brutal-looking and clearly loyal to their commander. They weren't as tall as Sarris and looked a bit like beetles with their beady little eyes and sturdy build.

Jack turned back to Mathasar, whose face was badly bruised. Gwen was dabbing at a bleeding wound on his temple with a tissue. When Jack tried to help him sit up a little straighter, he winced in pain. Jack glared at Sarris. "Why? They didn't do anything to hurt you!"

Sarris's lips stretched into a mean smile that reached his one good eye. Another soldier joined them, pushing Tosh into the airlock. "That is all of them," he soldier said.

Sarris nodded. "Good."

Mathasar coughed and wrapped an arm around his chest protectively, dragging up the energy from somewhere to smile triumphantly at Sarris. "You won't win, Sarris. You will face justice now that the Captain is here."

Jack winced and ducked his head, while Sarris just scoffed. "At every turn, you demonstrate the necessity for your extermination."

Jack got up and squared his shoulders. "Leave him alone."

That got him a look of mild interest from Sarris. "You wish to save the life of this man?"

Jack swallowed, his hands clenching into fists to keep them from trembling with the fear he failed to suppress entirely. "Yes."

"Then tell me: what does it do? This Omega 13."

Jack shrugged grudgingly. "I don't know what it does."

Sarris took a step back and snorted derisively.

Jack narrowed his eyes angrily. "I really don't know."

Sarris reached out a hand and one of his men handed him a staff of some kind. Before anyone could react, he held it against John's shoulder. John screamed and fell to the floor, clutching his arm. Ianto started to step towards him, but Owen grabbed his arm and pulled him back when Sarris brandished the device in his direction. "Careful," Owen muttered.

John's scream faltered, turning into pained gasps.

Sarris looked at Jack, unaffected by the pain he'd caused. "Is it a bomb?"

Jack swallowed, knowing what his answer would cause. "I don't know."

Sarris shocked John again, holding the device to his shoulder for a long moment. Jack winced at the choked scream that was wrenched from John's throat. "Stop it!"

Sarris obeyed, taking his time, though. John was gasping and sobbing by the time Sarris stepped back and met Jack's eyes again challengingly. "A booby trap?"

"I don't know."

Sarris stepped towards John again, who whimpered and tried to crawl away from him.

Ianto shrugged Owen's hand off and stepped between them. "No, stop it now!" he yelled.

Sarris did stop, eyeing Ianto curiously. He raised the device between them, tipping it towards Ianto threateningly. Jack saw Ianto's jaw clench and his hands tremble, but he didn't step back. Sarris chuckled as if Ianto's defiance was some kind of joke. "Tell me, _Captain_."

Jack closed his eyes. "I don't know."

For a moment, he expected Sarris to hurt Ianto next and work his way through the whole team until Jack talked – and if Jack knew what the Omega 13 was, he actually would – but instead, Sarris stepped closer to him menacingly and Jack found himself taking a step back. Sarris snarled. "Do you think I'm a fool? That the Captain does not know every bolt, every weld in his ship?"

He stared at Jack and waited. Jack didn't know what to say, so he shook his head.

"Fine," Sarris said and turned back to Ianto. "We'll just continue then."

He readied the device, looking at Ianto as if he was taking his time to decide where to touch, and Jack knew that it was over once and for all. "I'm not the Captain."

Sarris froze. It was silent for a moment, then he turned back to face Jack. "What did you say?"

Jack took a deep breath. "I said, I'm not the Captain."

"Jack," Ianto whispered.

Jack ignored him, stepping forward instead. "Leave them alone. There's no reason to hurt them. They don't know anything."

Sarris lowered the device, frowning at Jack quizzically. "Explain."

Jack nodded. "Gwen, show him the historical documents."

Gwen's hesitation hung heavy in the air for a moment, but then she ordered, "Computer, show the historical documents of the _Galaxy Quest_ missions."

The small screen embedded close to the bulkhead lit up, showing the title sequence of _Galaxy Quest_ in all its cheesy glory. Sarris stepped closer to the screen with obvious curiosity and just watched.

Ianto took the respite to crouch next to John, helping him to sit up and encouraging him to breathe deeply. Owen had put an arm around Tosh's shoulder and Jack saw her eyes were shining with tears she hadn't let fall yet. Behind him, he could hear Gwen talk softly to Mathasar, asking him where he was hurt. He regretted ever bringing them here, putting them into this situation, but it was too late now.

Sarris started to chuckle and then he laughed loudly and turned back to face Jack. "Wonderful! You have all done far greater damage than I ever could have. This is a moment I will treasure." He calmed just enough to give Jack a smug grin. "Explain to him who you all really are." He nodded at Mathasar.

Jack's breath caught in his chest. He bit his lip, ducking his head.

"Tell him," Sarris goaded and when Jack still couldn't find the words, he screamed, "Explain!"

Jack swallowed. "Mathasar, the …" He took a deep breath and turned to actually look at Mathasar while he was talking to him. "There's no such person as Captain Taggart. My name is Jack Harkness. I am an actor. We're all actors."

Mathasar just looked at him with a pained smile and Sarris put into words what Jack dreaded was the cruel truth. "He doesn't understand. Explain as you would to a child."

Jack cleared his throat, he couldn't find the words. It wasn't just about being caught out in a lie, it wasn't just about his pride … this was about something so much deeper: Mathasar's unshakeable trust. Jack didn't think he could do it … until he felt a hand slip into his, fingers entwining with his in support, and he knew that it was Ianto. He took a deep breath. "We ... we pretended." He stared at Mathasar pleadingly while squeezing Ianto's hand, feeling tears threaten when understanding slowly dawned and Mathasar's blue eyes misted over. Jack gave a one-sided shrug. "We lied."

Mathasar moaned and turned his head away.

"Yes!" Sarris said. "You understand that, don't you, Mathasar?"

Jack ignored him, instead he stepped closer to Mathasar and crouched down in front of him. "Mathasar, I ... I'm not a Captain. I ... there's no National Space Exploration Administration. We don't have a ship."

"But there it is," Mathasar whimpered, pointing at the screen where the episode was playing and the ship was flying through space in all its computer-simulated glory.

Jack shook his head and found Gwen's eyes for a moment, before she ducked her head sadly. "That ship was created by computers. It's not real. On the screen, it's ..." He held thumb and forefinger apart by two inches. "... this big."

Mathasar shook his head. "But inside, I see many rooms."

"You've seen plywood sets that look like the inside. Our Beryllium sphere is ... is wire with plaster around it. And our digital conveyor is … Christmas tree lights. It's a decoration. It's all fake." Jack swallowed. "Just like me."

Mathasar's blue eyes were wide with disbelief. "But why?"

Jack sighed and brushed a hand through his hair. "It's difficult to explain. On our planet we ... we pretend to … to entertain and ..." He shook his head. "Mathasar, I am so sorry. God, I am so sorry."

Mathasar closed his eyes and sobbed.

Sarris chuckled. "So now you know. Lieutenant Lathe," he turned to one of the three men with him, "hardwire the reactor core to overload. I would like to blow this troublesome vehicle to dust."

Mathasar tried to sit up a little straighter hurriedly and winced in pain. "Sarris," he said, "what about my people?"

Sarris laughed. "Yes! Far too simple a death for them, isn't it? Lathe, open an oxygen seal on level C. Let the air in a bit for our friends in the main barracks."

Jack cursed. "Son of a ..." He jumped towards Sarris, but before he knew it, he was hit with the device and fell to the floor, unbearable pain shooting through his body. He didn't know whether he screamed, but he must have. The pain was just too bad not to, all his muscles contracting and cramping.

He didn't even know whether he passed out for a moment, but the next thing he was aware of was Ianto's hand on his arm and Sarris's voice saying, "Release them … into space." With that, he left and the crew was alone with two soldiers.

The computer announced calmly, _"Core overload. Emergency shutdown overridden. Core implosion estimated in nine minutes."_

Owen cursed and looked at Jack darkly. "Where's the happy ending, Jack? Never give up? Never surrender?"

Jack's eyes fell onto one of the guards who was trying to get the shutter of the airlock to closed while his colleague was pointing a gun at the team. They were clearly having trouble with the Thermian technology. Jack saw a chance and he'd never been one to turn those down. "Maybe it's about time you just backed off, you fucking zombie," he said to Owen.

Gwen's eyes widened in shock. "Jack!"

Owen glared at him. "You _what_?"

"You're starting to act like you did in episode 17, you scene-stealing hack." He really hoped Owen got the reference to how the Captain and Dr. Lazarus escaped their enemies by pretending to have a fight.

"Oh, right," Owen said and understanding dawned in his dark eyes. "Well, how does it feel, Jack? Was it worth it? You murdered us all!"

"Shut up!" He lunged at Owen who backed away, out of the airlock. The guards looked at them and then each other, clearly not quite sure what to do.

Owen hissed, "Hundreds to die just because of you."

"I told you to shut up!"

The guard holding the gun found his voice. "Both of you: get back in there."

Owen ignored him. "Hundreds to die just because you want to play a big Captain. You raving egomaniac!"

"Then I'll see you in hell, won't I?" With that, Jack attacked, lunging at Owen. A fight ensued, during which Jack managed to grab a heavy rod from a pile of spare parts in the corridor. He swung it at Owen who ducked, enabling Jack instead to hit the guard who'd been intent on breaking up the fight. The other soldier screamed out in indignation, raising his gun as well.

"Look out, Jack!" Owen warned and Jack also hit the other guard before he could pull the trigger.

By the time the soldier hit the floor, unconscious, the first guard had recovered and was trying to reach for the gun of his fallen comrade. Jack saw it happening, but Owen was closer, so he called out, "Get his gun! Get the gun!"

Owen tried to reach for it but the soldier was faster, pointing the gun at Jack, but before he could shoot, John jumped in-between them and kicked the soldier's head, knocking him out for good.

For a few seconds, everyone was silent, breathless and surprised at how well this plan had worked. Then Gwen looked at John, awed. "Wow," she said. "I'm impressed."

"Thank you," John replied with a wry smile. "Now what?"

Jack smiled. "Now we save the Thermians." He winced in pain and rubbed his jaw, looking at Owen. "You used to pull your punches."

Owen raised his eyebrows. "You scene-stealing hack? Thank you."

"Raving egomaniac?"

"Can't think of where I got that from."

"Guys, look," Gwen interrupted them and they all looked at a screen in the wall of the corridor displaying a picture of the Thermians in the main barracks, struggling to breathe.

Tosh gasped. "They turned down the oxygen. I can't stop it from here but there's a valve in the maintenance shaft five levels up from the barracks that might stop the air from escaping."

"Only might? What about the door? If we open it, the Thermians would be safe, right?" Jack asked.

Tosh squinted at the screen. "Looks like they destroyed the control panel. The wires will have to be connected manually to be able to open it."

"Will it work?"

"Maybe," Tosh answered.

"Too many 'maybes'," Jack muttered.

" _Core overload,"_ the computer said. _"Emergency shutdown overridden. Core implosion estimated in eight minutes."_

Gwen raised her voice, "Computer, shut down the core."

" _Unable. Memory checksums invalid. Core system's hardware damaged."_

Jack put his hands on his hips. "All right. Listen up. This is what we're going to do. Ianto, you and I are going to get to the core and shut it down manually. Gwen, take John. Get to the barracks and wedge the door open. Owen and Tosh, in case that doesn't work, I need you find that valve. Shut it off before those Thermians run out of air."

Everyone nodded and they separated quickly. Jack waved at Ianto to follow him, hoping he remembered correctly where the core was from the tour they'd received at the beginning of all this.

Ianto caught up to him. "So, we get to shut down a neutron reactor."

"That's right."

"I hate to break it to you, Jack, but I don't know how to shut down a neutron reactor, and unless you took a course I don't know about, I'm pretty sure you don't know how to shut down a neutron reactor either."

Jack grinned at him. "No, I don't … but I know someone who does."

He flicked open his interstellar vox.


	11. Chapter 11

**11.**

Eugene was startled out of his work when there was a knock on his bedroom door and his mother entered. "Eugene, darling," she said, her eyebrows raised disapprovingly. "Garbage."

"Mother, I'm quite busy," he answered and focussed back on gluing a sonic cannon to the outside of the _NSEA Torchwood_ model he'd spread out on his desk.

"Eugene, don't make me ask you again."

He rolled his eyes. "Just ten more minutes. Okay, Mum?" He looked up at her pleadingly. "I promise."

"Great." With a small smile, she left.

Eugene just shook his head with a sigh and held another sonic cannon under the magnifying glass, applying glue to its end. That was when he heard a soft beeping sound he'd never heard before. Then another, the rhythm becoming steadier. He frowned, glancing at his mobile.

Nothing.

One look around his small, cluttered room didn't reveal anything that could be causing the noise either. At least not at first glance. It took him a few minutes, but finally, he was able to track the source of the noise to his bedside table drawer. He opened it carefully, blankly staring at the replica of the long-range communicator he kept there.

Eugene frowned. It was just a toy, just _Galaxy Quest_ merchandise, it shouldn't be able to make any noise. He picked it up.

That was when a male voice sounded. _"Hello? Anybody there?"_

Eugene stared at the device and looked around the bedroom and towards the closed door, expecting some kind of prank from his older brother. Nothing indicated that, though.

" _Hello?"_ the voice in the communicator asked again.

Hesitantly, Eugene answered, "Hello?"

" _Got him,"_ the voice said and then, _"Listen to me. This is Jack Harkness. I play Captain Peter Quincy Taggart, NSEA Torchwood. We accidentally traded communicators the other day when we bumped into each other at the electrics store."_

Eugene's eyes widened. "Oh!" Now, he recognized the voice. It was impossible, somehow, but Jack Harkness was actually talking to him via the toy communicator. "Oh, Captain, I see!"

" _What's your name?"_

He sat on the edge of his bed. "Eugene."

" _Eugene! I remember you, from after the convention, right? You asked all those little technical questions about the ship ... and I was a little short with you."_

Eugene grimaced. "Yes, I ... I know, Captain, and I actually want to ... I just wanted to tell you that I ... I realize that you're an actor and very busy and … you must be annoyed by fans asking all those questions about things that aren't real and such."

" _It's okay. Now listen ..."_

Eugene shook his head. "I want you to know that I don't take it personally. Just because we know every fact about a fictional world doesn't mean you have to. I just always got the impression that you enjoy it just as much."

" _Hold on, wait a minute-"_

"I know that the ship's not real or the crew or your adventures."

" _Wait a minute. Stop!"_

He bit his lip.

" _Brace yourself because what I'm going to say is absolutely true: It's all real."_

Eugene jumped into the air and laughed. "Oh, my God! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

" _The crew and I are in a lot of trouble and we need your help."_

xxx

"Sometimes, I miss the show," Tosh said softly, peering around a corner carefully. They hadn't met one of Sarris's men yet and she was starting to suspect that most of them had returned to their mother ship after they'd taken control of the _Torchwood_.

Owen looked at her in disbelief. "You miss the show? Really?"

She nodded. "Well," she amended then, "the beginning stages at least. Being new on the team and doing something popular and loved ..."

Owen scoffed. "Until Jack cocked it up."

"We all did," Tosh replied. "I think. I mean, yes, he outed Ianto at that press conference … I think that was only the end of it. The team wasn't all right long before all that. You and Jack were fighting for lines and screen time, Gwen was demotivated, Ianto grew bitter when he learned that Jack tried to get him written out of the show after their break-up, I felt uncomfortable all the time. We started out appreciating the show for giving us this great opportunity and ended up resenting it."

Owen was quiet for a long moment, then he said earnestly, "You didn't resent it. You never hated it. You were the only one who cried when they announced the cancellation."

Tosh ducked her head and leaned back against the corridor wall, pausing for a moment. Owen was staring at her intently, leaning closer to speak softly. "You never forgot a line and you did your research on your technical stuff … you actually loved it. That's why you were so easy-going about all this at the start."

Tosh shrugged, slightly embarrassed.

She was caught by surprise when Owen placed a chaste kiss on her lips, freezing at the unexpected gesture. Her heart hammered against her chest when she turned her head slightly to lean a bit more into the kiss. Owen pulled back and smiled at her. "That's what caught my attention from day one." He winked and walked on. "Come on, Tosh!" he called when she didn't follow immediately. "We've got Thermians to rescue."

She felt a blush rise in her cheeks and gave sigh before she quickly followed him.

xxx

Jack looked around, making sure that the corridors around them were empty. He held the vox up to his lips. "All right. We're at level C, hallway five. Now what?"

" _Um ..."_ Eugene hesitated. _"Go to weapons storage, second door on your left. And that leads to a system of utility corridors through the bowels of the ship."_

Jack walked a few steps down the corridor, Ianto directly behind him, and stopped in front of the door to the weapons storage. "Open," he ordered and the mechanism obeyed immediately. Jack let Ianto pass through first and followed him inside.

The door closed, sealing them inside a small, dimly-lit room lit with many shelves and the countless stun guns laid out on them. Ianto waved him closer and pointed at a hatch in the floor. "That it?" he asked.

Jack shrugged.

" _You know,"_ Eugene said, _"I'm going to get Carys via Skype. She knows the utility tunnel system better than anyone else alive."_

xxx

John glanced at the small monitor in the corridor, showing the barracks, and turned his back immediately. "They're still choking," he said with a grimace, clutching his stun gun tighter.

They had reached the level of the main barracks unhindered but now were stopped by the presence of a few of Sarris's men who'd taken position in front of the main barracks. There was no way they could walk past them without being seen.

Gwen glanced around the corner once more, as if the soldiers could have vanished in the meantime. She turned to him with a grimace. "All we have to do is get them away from there."

"Yeah," John said sarcastically. "Easy."

xxx

Carys smiled as soon as the video chat opened. _"Hi, Eugene."_

He made an effort to calm his heart from racing a bit when he saw her. Carys was a pretty girl with long, dark-blonde hair and soulful blue eyes who'd always looked at him as if he was someone special. Girls usually didn't have much time for Eugene, but Carys was different, and he'd spent the last few months trying to work up the courage to ask her out on a date.

But this wasn't the time.

"No time for pleasantries, Carys," he said. "We have a level five emergency. You still have the utility systems walk-through, right?"

She nodded and typed away on her laptop. _"Yeah. I've got sectors one through twenty-eight. I think Annie has the upper levels."_

"Great. I'll get everybody online."

xxx

They'd crawled through the hatch and were now standing in one of the low, narrow maintenance entries of the ship. In front of them, several ducts were branching off, all of them just high enough to crawl through. It was pretty obvious that they'd have to use one of them to reach the ship's core. Jack wasn't looking forward to that. And judging by Ianto's expression, he wasn't either. Jack cleared his throat. "All right, Eugene. I see five ducts in this room. Which way do we go?"

" _Enter the second to your right. And just continue straight for 50 metres."_

Ianto muttered, "Ducts. Why is it always ducts?"

Jack remembered the episode in which Laredo had got stuck in one of them and had almost died due to radiation poisoning. Ianto had confessed to him once that he suffered from a slight form of claustrophobia and that shooting that episode had been one of the worst jobs of his life. Thus, it wasn't surprising that he hesitated for a moment before crawling into the duct. Jack climbed in behind him.

It was dark.

"We should have brought a torch," Jack tried a joke but Ianto just gave a huff. Soothingly, Jack brushed his fingers against Ianto's and felt him hold onto his hand for a moment. Then, Ianto started to crawl into the darkness. The metal was cold under Jack's hands while he followed him. "50 metres," he said after a while. "We should be almost there."

In that moment, Ianto gave yelp and then a choked scream. Jack grabbed for him instinctively and caught an ankle. In the very second he realized that Ianto was in fact falling, he was already pulled over the edge as well. They tumbled down the steep incline, Jack hitting his head several times and their limbs tangling, before finally coming to lie at the foot, groaning.

They were at kind of a crossroad, with several new ducts branching off. A weak light was flickering on the ceiling.

Eugene's voice sounded into the silence. _"Uh ... there will be a slight drop."_

"Thanks for the heads-up, Eugene," Jack said sarcastically.

Ianto opened his eyes and cursed. "What the hell? That construction doesn't even make sense!"

"You okay?" Jack asked, worried.

Ianto nodded and Jack patted his shoulder, helping him to sit up.

"Right, Eugene, what next?"

xxx

"Sleeping with Jack was a mistake," Gwen said.

John's eyes widened when he actually processed what she'd said in one of the most inconvenient moments in the history of awkward confessions. "Okay, I … acknowledge that you said that."

She shrugged, leaning back against the corridor wall. "Just wanted to say it in case I don't survive."

John swallowed. "Well …" He huffed a breath. "If you look at it like that … when I got together with Ianto, I knew that he was still in love with Jack."

Gwen turned her head to look at him. "Really?"

John shrugged with an embarrassed smile. "I just kind of hoped ..."

Gwen's features softened. "For what it's worth," she replied. "I think Ianto was hoping the same."

She took his hand and squeezed gently. "Now, what are we going to do about those guards?"


	12. Chapter 12

**12.**

"What the hell?" Jack asked, staring at the thin metal catwalk. He looked around. The room they were standing in was more of a shaft that seemed to stretch through the ship vertically. The flimsy catwalk without any kind of rail was the only way across. Beneath them, a huge fan was rotating quickly, blowing hot air up and past them. Even if they fell and by some miracle missed the fan's blades, they would certainly die from the impact. Jack looked at Ianto whose blue eyes were wide with alarm. He couldn't fault him for that. He didn't feel exactly confident about this either. "Eugene," he said into the vox, "do we really have to go across this thing?"

" _Yes,"_ Eugene answered.

Jack looked at Ianto who was standing with his back pressed against the wall. "Don't look down."

Ianto looked pale and slightly panicked, a sheen of sweat had gathered on his forehead, which, Jack was sure, wasn't entirely down to the heat. He felt his own heart accelerating and nervous nausea climbed up his throat. He took Ianto's hand in his and gently coaxed him forward, taking the first step onto the catwalk.

Eugene's excited voice crowed, _"What I'd give to see what you're seeing!"_

"What the hell?" Ianto muttered.

Jack didn't really see the appeal either. "What are you talking about?"

" _You're deep in the underbelly of the Omega 13! Oh, it must be spectacular!"_

They edged forward slowly. Ianto's voice sounded slightly shaky, his fingers clenched around Jack's tight enough to hurt. "It ... it doesn't look like much to me. There's just these few walls and this spinning fan."

Jack turned his gaze away from the rotating blades and instead risked a glance upwards. He stopped abruptly, caught by what he was seeing.

"What? What is it?" Ianto asked nervously.

"Look," Jack murmured. He couldn't tear his gaze away from what he was seeing. Above them, suspended in the air, was … something. It had to be the Omega 13, but all Jack could see was a sparkling, brightly shining ball of light emitting little bolts of lightning, electricity humming in the air around it.

"Wow," Ianto said. "Where did they find this?"

"Eugene," Jack said, "what does the Omega 13 device do?"

" _Uh ... many have believed that it is a matter collapser, a bomb capable of destroying pretty much everything in about thirteen seconds. But myself and others are convinced that-"_

"Eugene, no lectures, please!"

" _It's a matter rearranger, affecting a thirteen second time jump to the past."_

Ianto frowned. "Why thirteen seconds? That's really not enough time to do anything of any importance."

"It'd be time enough to redeem a single mistake," Jack answered, staring at him earnestly. "Deciding against saying something to the press I shouldn't have or deciding against going into that cloak room with Gwen."

Ianto smiled softly. "Deciding to walk up to you and taking your hand on the red carpet."

Jack squeezed Ianto's fingers. "As I said … enough time."

They startled when there was a shout and Jack looked towards the door they'd entered through to see Sarris's men through the little window, trying to break through. He was suddenly very glad he'd locked the door … he also knew, though, that they would stop at nothing to get through to them.

"Go," he said, pulling on Ianto's hand and quickly crossing the rest of the catwalk. "Go, go, go!"

That was when an explosion ripped the door off its hinges and down the shaft, caught by the fan with a loud, clattering sound. Jack and Ianto reached the other side and ducked away from the charges the guns of Sarris's men emitted. Jack pushed the door open and pulled Ianto through, quickly locking it.

"Eugene," he said, looking up and down the corridor they were now standing in. "We need to hurry up."

xxx

Gwen bit her lip, looking at the monitor and the dying Thermians again. "We have to get to that door. Their oxygen's almost gone."

John nodded, a determined expression on his face. "Listen, I'll create a distraction. I've got this." He held the stun gun up and Gwen saw his hand shaking. John caught it as well and smiled reassuringly. "I'm okay. I'm going to be able to hold them back long enough for you to wedge the door open and help the Thermians escape."

Gwen shook her head. "That's suicide."

"Of course it is," John replied. "I'm wearing a red shirt, Gwen." The joke fell flat and John sighed. "If I'm going to die, I'd rather go out as a hero than a coward."

"John ..."

"No," he said firmly. "You can't stop me. I will do this. I _can_ do this."

Gwen sighed. "John, shut up! I have a better idea."

xxx

Owen watched Tosh expertly use the touchscreen in the little maintenance chamber they'd found. "I just need to find the valve responsible for the oxygen in the main barracks and reset the mechanism to stop whatever Sarris has been doing to it," she said.

"You don't need to explain," he replied. "Just do it." He kept an eye on the door, just in case. The room was small, just enough space for one person, really, and he stood close to her, catching himself being slightly distracted by the scent of her shampoo. Something with citrus or …

"Damn!" Tosh cursed, startling him out of his thoughts.

"What is it?"

"They changed the password," she answered. "I can't get into the system."

"What does that mean?"

"That means that I can't reset the oxygen levels." She turned around to him. "If Gwen and John don't manage to open that door, all of the Thermians in that room will die."

Owen shook his head and was about to answer that they had to crack the password somehow, but Gwen's voice coming through Tosh's vox interrupted him. _"Tosh, Owen?"_

Tosh quickly grabbed the device from her belt. "Yes, we're here. No luck with the valve, I'm afraid."

" _All right, maybe you can help us, then. Do you think you could make it to the digital conveyer?"_

Tosh looked at Owen quizzically but he could only shrug, so Tosh answered, "What do you need?"

" _One hell of a distraction."_

xxx

" _Are you all right?"_ Eugene asked, a panicked edge to his voice.

"We're fine," Jack answered, watching, through the small window in the door, Sarris's men cross the catwalk. They moved hesitantly, obviously just as nervous as he and Ianto had been. "Where to now?"

" _You want to take a left and then just straight on through the chompers."_

Ianto's eyes widened and Jack would have laughed if he hadn't been so shocked himself. Ianto leaned closer to the vox. "The chompers?"

" _Down the corridor,"_ Eugene answered.

Jack really didn't want to go there but he put a hand on the small of Ianto's back and led him where Eugene had directed them. A thumping noise that had been audible for quite some time now became louder the closer they got and when they walked around the corner, they saw what emitted it.

Two large pieces of metal placed strategically to block the corridor clapped together rhythmically.

Ianto cursed in what sounded like Welsh.

Jack swallowed. "Is there no way around this?"

" _No, unfortunately not,"_ Eugene answered.

Ianto grabbed his arm. "Well, screw that! I'm not going through that!"

Jack spoke into the vox, exasperated. "How are we supposed to get through this?"

Eugene's voice was barely audible over the noise of the chompers but his question wasn't directed at them anyway. _"Annie, do you have the sequence yet?"_

" _Okay,"_ a girl's voice came through. _"The sequence is two-two-four-"_

Ianto interrupted her. "What is this thing anyway? I mean, it serves no useful purpose for there to be a bunch of chompy, crushy things in the middle of a hallway!"

A crashing sound down the corridor alerted them and Jack peeked around the corner, back to where they came from. Sarris's men were breaking through the door.

They had to move.

Ianto was still panicking. "We shouldn't have to do this. It makes no logical sense! Why is it here?!"

"Because it's on the show! Remember?" Jack answered. It had been a rather bad episode, to be honest, nothing but the attempt to push Captain Taggart and Tawny Madison into a romantic relationship. In the episode after, Taggart had found himself gazing into Laredo's eyes. Apparently, the authors hadn't been able to decide who he should flirt with.

Ianto shook his head. "Well, forget it! I'm not doing it! That episode was badly written."

Eugene said, _"Okay, Captain, you heard the sequence."_

"Fuck the sequence!" Ianto cursed and turned to go.

Jack grabbed his arm and pulled him in, staring into his eyes. "It's this or Sarris."

Ianto shook his head. "Jack-"

"These things will kill us instantly. Sarris won't."

Ianto ducked his head … and nodded.

Jack laced their fingers together and pulled him close, pressing a firm kiss against his lips. While Ianto was still looking at him in surprise, he said, "Eugene?"

" _Okay … go now. Go!"_

Jack did, his pulse racing and his breathing coming in painful gasps, pulling Ianto along with him. They survived.

Just to be faced with another set of chompers.

Ianto muttered, "You have got to be kidding me."

" _Go!"_ Eugene said and they did. _"Stop!"_

They stopped before the last set of chompers, Ianto's fingers tightening around Jack's. When Eugene said _"Go"_ , they listened … and had reached the end, faced with another door. Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

Ianto looked up at him. "Whoever wrote this episode should die."

Jack started to laugh but found himself smothered a moment later by Ianto's lips crashing against his. His arms came up around Ianto automatically, pressing him closer and threading his fingers into his short hair. A moment later, it was over, and Jack could do nothing but stare at Ianto, dazed.

"Let's finish this," Ianto said.

Jack smiled. "Let's."


	13. Chapter 13

**13.**

"Okay," Tosh said, fiddling with the digital conveyer. "A distraction coming right up." She looked up at Owen, the wild smile gracing her features making Owen's heart beat faster. "This should be interesting." Her focus went back to the screen and Owen watched her zero in on Gorignak, who was restlessly walking the valley – probably looking for Jack. Tosh modified the coordinates of Gorignak's destination, while Owen's eyes shifted to the other screen. Sarris's men were still guarding the dying Thermians. They had considered transporting them down to the planet, but the digital conveyer had been unable to pick all of them up at once and the risk that they would warn others or come to investigate and find Gwen and John in the process was too great. They needed something to take them out all at once without being able to warn anyone. "Here we go," Tosh said and started the process. It took only a second for Gorignak to be enveloped in a bright light and then he appeared in the corridor in the midst of Sarris's men.

It was almost comical, the way they gaped at it for a breathless moment. Gorignak seemed surprised as well, then it made it clear that it didn't appreciate its new environment. Sarris's guards didn't stand a chance really.

Owen almost felt a bit sorry for them.

Almost.

"It's the simple things in life you treasure," he said, smiling down at Tosh. "Brilliant." He swallowed nervously, leaned down and kissed her. It was supposed to just be a short peck, but Tosh wrapped her arms around his neck and it lasted a bit longer. Owen wondered why they'd taken this long to realize … or maybe they'd always known. At least he had. But during the years the show was shot, he'd also felt that he wasn't good enough for someone like Tosh, who was clearly brilliant and vibrant and heading somewhere. After the show had ended, though, she'd stayed in Cardiff, turning down offers and only taking the odd job, mainly giving acting classes. It had been the wrong point in time for him, though, with his career going down and the alcohol being too much of a relief. He only realized now that Tosh had always been there, in his periphery, taking him out and spending time with him … maybe, just maybe, they could do this.

By the time they looked up at the screen again, the rock monster had taken care of Sarris's guards. Tosh quickly transported it down to the planet again before it could find Gwen and John or wreak more havoc.

Tosh sighed, "My work's done."

Owen couldn't resist kissing her again.

xxx

"Come on!" John called and hurried around the corner. He kept his stun gun trained on Sarris's guards for good measure but it was obvious that they were out for the count. He didn't look closely enough to see whether they were even alive, feeling that he wouldn't be able to stomach the thought, even though they would have killed him without thinking twice.

Gwen raised her vox to her lips. "Tosh, you're brilliant!"

No answer was coming forth but John didn't pay that any mind. He stood at the door, looking at the destroyed opening mechanism in dismay. Gwen glanced at it as well and cursed. "Computer, stabilize life support in the main barracks."

"You tried that several times already," John grumbled.

As if it had heard him, the computer agreed, _"Unable to perform command."_

Gwen muttered, "Worth a try."

John poked at one of the wires dangling out of the opening mechanism and reared back when it sparked.

"Computer," Gwen said, "open the door to the main barracks."

" _Unable to perform command."_

"It's not working," Gwen said.

"You don't say!" John replied in mock-surprise, earning himself an eye-roll. He tried to find somewhere to grab onto on the door, but it was smooth, no leverage to be found. Frustrated, he rammed his stun gun into the destroyed mechanism.

" _Door opening,"_ the computer announced and to John's surprise, it did indeed move, but only an inch or so. An inch was enough in this situation, though.

Gwen gaped at him and John just shrugged. "Whatever works." He got his fingers into the gap between the door and the wall and pulled. Gwen didn't hesitate long before helping him … it was hard and John thought that he was pulling muscles he didn't even know he had, but finally, the door gave and slid open all the way. "Come on!" he shouted at the Thermians.

The ones close to them stared, stunned, still gasping for air even though the life support system in the corridor was now also supporting the main barracks.

However, John knew that it would take too long for the air to normalize in the huge room, so he waved at the Thermians to leave. "Come on!" he repeated.

Finally, they startled out of their stupor and quickly ran towards them. John and Gwen stood back while the Thermians moved past them out of the main barracks to crowd in the corridor, taking deep breaths. It must have been about 200 of them before the stream lessened and John made sure that all of them had left the barracks before he pushed the door closed again, only a small gap remaining.

When he turned back to Gwen, she was smiling at him and wrapped him into an enthusiastic hug. "We made it," she said softly.

He squeezed her to him and nodded, swallowing. "Yeah." He imagined that people who regularly saved others must feel this way all the time – choked and excited at once – and took a deep breath to calm his frantically beating heart.

Meanwhile, Gwen stepped back and turned to the Thermians. "Are you all right?!" she asked loudly. "Is anyone hurt?"

No answer was forthcoming, the Thermians just kept staring at them as if they were seeing ghosts. Then, finally, Teb stepped forward from the crowd, starting to clap. "We are saved!" he called out and more Thermians started cheer, repeating the words. Pretty soon, everyone inside the corridor was clapping and smiling, grateful expressions on their friendly faces.

Gwen smiled, blushing furiously, and John felt humbled as well, crossing his arms and ducking his head … until Teb shouted, "He has saved us! Captain Taggart has saved us!"

Gwen stared at them and then at John, who sighed. "It's just not fair."

xxx

Ianto stared at the core of the ship, the very heart of the power supply. It was surprisingly small, only about as big as his hand, and encased into a tube of glass on a pedestal of the same white smooth material the ship's walls were made of, in the middle of a small room. It was shining brightly, sparking and pulsating, its power travelling through the tube and going into the power supply system of the ship through countless pipes vanishing into the walls.

Everything looked perfectly all right in Ianto's opinion. Only the flashing red lights along the white walls gave away that something was seriously wrong. That, and the computer droning out a warning regularly. _"Core implosion estimated in 30 seconds."_

"She sounds cheerful," Ianto said.

Jack smiled at him but spoke into the vox. "All right, Eugene, how do we shut this thing down?"

" _Just push the blue button."_

Jack looked at Ianto who frowned in disbelief and looked at the blue button embedded into the pedestal. A protective, clear lid was covering it. Jack looked at it as if it was a particularly puzzling riddle. "The blue button? Is that it?"

" _Yeah. Why? What's wrong?"_

"Nothing," Jack answered. "I just thought it'd be more complicated than that."

"It's quite anti-climactic," Ianto agreed.

Jack raised the lid protecting the button just as the computer said, _"Core implosion estimated in 20 seconds."_

Jack shrugged at Ianto, smiled and pushed the button.

The clock kept counting down.

Jack pushed again and again. Finally, Ianto nudged his hand away and pushed the button himself.

Jack glared at him in annoyance. "Really? I can push buttons, you know." He raised the vox to his lips. "Eugene, it's not working!"

There was no answer.

"Eugene?"

Still no answer. Jack looked at Ianto in alarm while the clock kept counting down.

" _Core implosion estimated in 10 seconds."_

"Eugene!"

xxx

Eugene stumbled through the little garden of the house towards the street, trash bags clutched in his hands. "Bloody hell, mum!"

He could practically feel his mother's disapproving glare. "You promised!" she shouted.

"Mother, I cannot stress enough the severity of the Captain's predicament!" He slammed the bags into one of the bins and wanted to run back into the house – back to the video chat and the vox and to the Captain's assistance he'd been dragged away from almost forcibly – but his mother had other ideas.

"Don't you dare throw the recyclables into the normal trash!"

Eugene ran back to re-sort the bags into the correct bins.

xxx

" _Core implosion estimated in nine seconds ... eight ..."_

Jack swallowed and looked at Ianto. "Ianto, I ..." The words got stuck in his throat and he cursed himself for being so tongue-tied at such an important moment.

" _... seven ... six ..."_

Ianto nodded at him, his eyes bright in the flashing of the emergency lights.

" _... five ... four ..."_

Taking Jack's hand, Ianto said, "It's all right. I'm sorry, too." He embraced him and Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto, pulling him as close as possible.

" _... three ... two ... one ..."_

He squeezed his eyes shut, preparing himself … but nothing happened. The core kept supplying energy and the engines continued to hum gently. No explosions, no sirens … the flashing lights died and the normal, neon-like lights flickered on again as if nothing had happened.

Jack looked around and then at Ianto who let a giggle escape. Ever so slowly, it started to dawn on him what could have happened. He smiled in disbelief. "Do you think …?"

Ianto bit his lip. "It always stops at one on the show."

"A fail-safe?" Jack asked.

They laughed – disbelief turning into relief – and stopped when their gazes caught. For just one second, Jack considered kissing Ianto again, but he wasn't sure if the gesture would be welcome, now that the danger was over. After all, Ianto could have just acted out of instinct and the search for comfort before. Ianto frowned at him, a confused smile lingering on his lips. Embarrassed, Jack cleared his throat and ducked his head.

Ianto chuckled. "Idiot," he said fondly and pressed their lips together.

xxx

By the time Jack and Ianto joined Owen, Tosh, Gwen and John on the bridge, the last of Sarris's men were beating a hasty retreat. The front screen showed several shuttles departing hastily from the _Torchwood_ and flying towards Sarris's mother ship. John's eyes weren't on them, though, he was focussed on Jack and Ianto, who suddenly were standing much closer to each other than before. Somehow, he'd known that he would lose against Jack in the end and his relationship with Ianto had been over anyway.

That didn't mean that it didn't hurt just a bit ...

Jack crossed his arms and watched the shuttles go with a smirk. "Good job, everyone!"

Gwen shrugged. "There weren't many of them left and word about our friend Gorignak must have got around." She smiled at Tosh.

John cleared his throat, pushing away from the wall he'd been leaning against. "It's not over yet," he cautioned. "They're going back to their ship, yes, but I don't think Sarris is the type to just give up."

Jack gave him a nod. "You're probably right." He put his hands on his hips and a determined expression settled on his features, the Captain taking over once again. "We need that armour back up. Get to work."

Gwen, Owen and Ianto hurried to their stations, working the touch screens and adjusting dials as if they'd never done anything else in their lives. Jack settled into the Captain's chair. The engine hummed a little louder when Ianto prepared for flight.

John sat on one of the visitor seats behind Gwen's station and was joined by Tosh. She gave him a sad smile. "All right?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Sure."

She squeezed his hand gently.

Owen announced, "Plasma armour: engaged."

Jack nodded. "All right, Ianto, see if you can lose them in that minefield."

John stared at Jack in alarm. He'd almost forgotten about the minefield. Sarris somehow had seemed like a much bigger danger. "Minefield?"

"Go, Ianto," Jack said, ignoring John. "Right now."

Ianto nodded. "Yes, sir."

John stepped up behind Jack's chair, grabbing the backrest tightly. "Is that a good idea?" he asked in a low voice.

"It's my only idea," Jack answered. "We need to defeat them once and for all or they'll just come back to hunt the Thermians down. I won't let that happen."

John stared at his set features for a moment, taken aback by the grim expression on it. "Look at you," he muttered. "A real hero."

Jack smiled tightly at him. "Every hero's only as good as their team."


	14. Chapter 14

**14.**

"They're following us," Owen said, staring at the schematics on his screen.

Jack's shoulders tensed and he bit his lip. His plan was dangerous, he knew that. Downright crazy. A plan worthy of Captain Taggart. He could hardly believe that he was doing this, sending his team and the last survivors of the Thermian race into this danger. He'd though about this, though, and talked it through with Ianto on their way to the bridge and Ianto had agreed that it was the only way. They weren't equipped for a space battle and Sarris wouldn't just let them go – they needed to fight dirty. "Ianto," he said, "we need to get closer to the mines."

Ianto gave him a small smile. "Yes, sir."

The minefield was looming in front of them, some of the mines already drifting slowly towards the _Torchwood_ , pulled by the magnetic effect of the hull.

Still standing behind Jack's chair, John asked, "What's the plan?"

Jack swallowed, wondering how he should put it into words without it sounding like a suicide mission.

Tosh had connected some of the dots already, though – his smart Toshiko – and answered, "The magnetism of the mine field will disrupt their instruments."

Owen gave a nod. "That's a good plan."

Jack took a deep breath. "But that's only the start. Ianto, ready?"

Ianto sounded tense and focussed when he answered, "Yes, this should do."

"Turn back around."

Gwen and Owen stared at him and John came around Jack's chair to give him a glare. "But we just lost them."

Jack met his eyes. "Trust me. I've got a plan."

Tosh drifted over to Owen, looking at his screen, while Ianto turned the _Torchwood_ carefully until Sarris's ship approaching them could be seen through the front screen. Owen cursed under his breath. Tosh, though, gasped in surprise, staring at Owen's screen. "Oh my God!"

John looked at her. "What?"

"That's genius, Jack!" Tosh said instead of answering. "How did you think of that?"

"Hey!" Jack answered, faking hurt. "I'm smart, you know."

Gwen's voice shook when she said, "Okay, I'm reading activity on Sarris's ship."

Owen nodded in confirmation. "They're opening fire."

Jack looked at him. "Here we go, then. Divert all energy to the armour."

The front screen flickered and Sarris's grinning face appeared. _"How adorable! The actors are going to play war with me."_

Gwen ignored him, keeping her eyes firmly on her screen. "Sarris's ship accelerating toward us at Mark 2."

"Accelerate to Mark 4," Jack replied and got up, crossing his arms and staring at Sarris with determination.

Sarris chuckled darkly. _"Let me remind you, son: I am a general. If you are counting on me to move my ship out of the way first, then you are making a deadly mistake."_

Jack grinned wildly, feeling his heartbeat accelerate, adrenaline giving his morale a boost. "Well, let me tell you something, Sarris. It doesn't take a great actor to recognize a bad one. You're sweating."

Owen said, "Armour almost gone, Jack."

He registered that information, heard his team working quietly but frantically, but the major part of his attention remained riveted on Sarris, who growled. _"You fool! You fail to realize that with your armour gone, my ship will tear through yours like tissue paper!"_

Jack smirked. "And what you fail to realize is that my ship is dragging mines."

It was almost comical to watch Sarris's eyes widen, his hasty turn to bark at his men _"Turn! Turn!"_ , the image of him vanishing from the screen to show how close they already were to his ship. A ship which tried to move its considerable size to the side ...

… but it was too late.

Ianto dipped the _NSEA Torchwood_ down at the last moment, diving elegantly underneath Sarris's ship. The mines didn't change course that fast, crashing into the hull of Sarris's ship, the explosion rocking the _Torchwood_. John stumbled and caught himself on Jack's chair. Ianto accelerated and only slowed down a minute later, turning the ship around once more to show them the fireball that had once been Sarris's ship.

For a moment, they all just stared.

Then Gwen squealed and jumped up from her seat. "We did it!"

Jack laughed, turning around to look at his team with pride.

Ianto left his station to join him, pulling him up from his chair and hugging him tightly. "Simply amazing," he said with a smile and Jack leaned down to kiss him soundly. Ianto pulled away after a moment with a laugh, his blue eyes sparkling with joy and relief. "Set a course for home, Captain?"

"Can you do that?" Jack asked, suddenly longing to be back on Earth more than anything.

"Oh, yeah. Just point and click. But we're going to have to go through a black hole. There's one close-by."

Jack smiled, raising his voice to be heard over the chatter of the others. "Everyone, any objections against going home?"

Nobody seemed to have any.

Jack nodded at Ianto. "All right, set her up."

Ianto went to do just that and Jack settled back into the Captain's chair. Tosh stepped up to him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Amazing, Jack."

"I aim to please," he drawled and Tosh rolled her eyes. Jack activated the speaker system. "All right, everyone! You will be relieved to hear that Sarris won't pose a problem for you anymore."

Ianto nodded at him and when Jack looked out the window, he saw the black hole looming in front of them – an empty, dark spot in the ocean of stars and galaxies surrounding them.

"Everyone hold on tight now, we're going through a black hole. Next stop: Earth." He deactivated the speaker and gripped the armrests of his chair. "Let's go then."

Flying through the black hole turned out to be less spectacular than Jack had imagined. It felt like using the turbo, the acceleration making the ship tremble violently and the systems go haywire, beeping in alarm … but just a few seconds after they'd entered, Gwen said "We're out" and they were looking at Earth far beneath them. It seemed calm and ordinary in comparison to what they'd seen … and so perfect that Jack found himself smiling, his mind already leaping forwards to make plans – plans with Ianto, with the team … with the show. Maybe he should call that producer who'd more than once proclaimed _Galaxy Quest_ should return to the screens.

" _Systems register functional,"_ the computer reported, pulling Jack from his thoughts.

Gwen winked at him. "All systems are working, Captain."

Tosh raised a hand. "Wait a moment," she said, frowning at the screen she was studying. "Jack. Before the black hole, there was an energy surge from Sarris's ship."

He shook his head, getting up to stretch. "Let's not worry about that right now, Tosh."

What happened next came so fast that Jack was barely able to understand at first. There was a bright flash of light in one corner of the room. He saw Sarris standing there, raising one of his brutal looking guns with a sneer, firing … and then he was lying on the ground himself, Ianto's body covering his.

Gwen screamed. Jack saw Sarris point his gun at her, but before he could do anything, John fired his stun gun and Sarris fell to the floor. Whether he was dead or not didn't matter to Jack, not at all, because he was busy rolling Ianto's slack body off himself gently with Owen's help. There was blood on his hands.

Owen whispered, "Oh God. Oh shit!"

And Jack realized that Ianto wasn't moving, that he was bleeding, that his eyes were open but didn't look at anything … that he was dead.

"No," he whispered.

And there was only one thing shooting through his head.

13 seconds.

Alarms started blaring, but he didn't care why. He stumbled to his feet and over to his chair and with the key code he remembered from the show, he called up the Omega 13 program on the small screen embedded into the armrest of his chair. He pushed the button without thinking twice.

Everything slowed, stopped and …

"We're out," Gwen reported, smiling as they left the black hole.

Jack looked around, confused for a moment.

" _Systems register functional,"_ the computer said.

"All systems are working, Captain," Gwen said and Jack realized that he was the only one who remembered what had happened. He looked at Ianto, who was just fine, working on his screen.

Even while Tosh said, "Jack, before the black hole, there was an energy surge from Sarris's ship" he was already moving, pulling his stun gun and pointing it at the corner where Sarris would materialize. Ianto stared at him in confusion but before he could ask why Jack was doing this, Sarris had already appeared.

Jack shot him and Sarris collapsed, a look of surprise and shock on his face. Jack shot again and again, keeping it up until Sarris was lying on the floor unconscious and Owen ripped the gun from Jack's hand. "Stop it! What the hell, Jack?"

Alarms started blaring.

"Jack!" Ianto cried. "Jack! I can't slow it down!"

The ship was trembling, tilting to the side and Earth came closer, looming dangerously. Jack realized that they were crashing.

Mathasar stepped into Jack's view. He didn't even know when he had joined them, but it must have been while the red haze had blurred his vision. Mathasar's gaze was calm while he said, "Our ship is too big to enter the atmosphere. We need to separate or we will die. The bridge alone will be able to withstand the atmospheric turbulences, the rest of the ship can lift and establish orbit on its own."

Jack waved John closer. "We have to do it then," he answered. "It's our only hope. But you need to take Sarris with you. He would be a bit hard to explain." He grabbed one of Sarris's arms and John the other and together they quickly dragged him out the door of the bridge, letting him slump to the floor outside where more Thermians were waiting anxiously. Jack straightened and looked at Mathasar earnestly. "Thank you. For everything."

"I knew you weren't lying," Mathasar answered.

Jack gave a sad smile but didn't reply.

Mathasar nodded at them. "Thank you for your assistance, my friends." With tears in his eyes, he quickly gave the _Galaxy Quest_ salute – raising one fist to rest over his heart – and closed the door to the bridge.

"Now, Ianto!" Jack called and the ship jerked when the bridge separated from the lower part. Jack hurried to his chair. "Okay, we have to bring her down safely."

"Where?" Ianto asked. "We need a wide, open field where nobody is in danger of being hit by us."

Gwen looked up from her screen. "We're coming down in Cardiff Bay."

Jack grimaced. "Can you adjust our landing?" he asked Ianto.

"I've got minimal movability," Ianto answered and grimaced when another shudder went through the ship, flames licking at the protective shield when they breached the atmosphere. "I can't see anything. It's too dark."

Jack realized that he was right. They were coming down on the dark side of the planet. Night had fallen over Europe – it was a good thing because chances of being seen were smaller, but also meant that they were in trouble. He recognized Cardiff from above, the gentle lights of street lamps and cars. "There's city lights."

Ianto shook his head. "I need something else. A source of light that's not street lamps. There's too many of them. It has to be unique, a beacon to focus on. Bright lights, a unique radio frequency ..."

"I have an idea," Jack said, raising the vox to his lips. "Eugene?"

xxx

Eugene shoved as many Roman Candles into his backpack as he could, took three more in his hand and hurried past the lounge for the front door. "Bye! Be back soon!" he called to his parents who were sitting in front of the television.

"Wait a minute," his mother called. "Hey, Eugene! Where are you going with all those fireworks?"

He rolled his eyes, nervously bobbing on the balls of his feet while he explained, "Well, the _Torchwood_ got super accelerated coming out of the black hole, and it entered the atmosphere at Mark 16, which, you know, is pretty unstable obviously, so we're going to help Laredo guide it on the long-range communicator's ultra-frequency carrier and use Roman Candles for visual confirmation."

His parents stared at him.

His father sipped his beer. "And where is that supposed to happen?"

"Oh, just down the road," Eugene answered. "IKEA's got a big parking lot and it's Sunday, so it's closed."

"All right," his mother said finally. "Dinner's at seven."

Eugene nodded and ran for the front door, hearing his father grumble, "Well, at least he's getting some fresh air."

xxx

"Got them!" Ianto called when he locked onto the vox's frequency. On the rapidly approaching parking lot of the IKEA, several Roman Candles lit up, taking position in front of the store.

Jack grinned and gripped the armrest of his chair tighter. "Go, Eugene."

Gwen shook her head, staring at her screen. "We're still too fast. At this rate, we are going to meet the ground hard."

John groaned. "We're going to die."

"Shut up," Owen replied.

Jack fastened the rarely used seatbelt of his chair, pulling it taught across his shoulders and middle. "Everyone, brace yourselves!"

He saw everyone buckle in, John and Tosh using the visitor's chairs off to the side of the bridge. The ground approached fast and Jack swallowed, his heart racing a mile a minute, his hands clenched around his armrests, his breath coming in short gasps …

… they hit the ground hard enough to knock the air right out of their lungs, but the initial contact with the concrete was the worst. After, they slid over the asphalt, the metal on concrete making a screeching, drawn-out noise and their bodies pressed into the seat belts … but they survived.

For one moment, it was quiet, then Tosh let out a loud laugh and they all joined in, the tension of the last few days finally dissipating.

"Is everyone all right?" Jack asked, looking around.

But he needn't have asked. It was obvious that they were all more than all right.

 **3 months later**

"Are we sure about this?" Owen asked, leaning back in his chair to look at all of them crowded together in this small backstage room.

Tosh took his hand and squeezed gently while Gwen looked up from her phone. "We are," she said with a frown. "I thought you were as well."

Ianto tugged on his uniform, looking at himself in one of the many mirrors. "Are you thinking about backing out?"

Owen sighed and looked at Jack, who was rearranging his hair carefully. "This is madness."

Jack chuckled. "I think we've seen real madness," he answered with a wink. "How much worse can this be?"

Owen looked at Tosh. "It wasn't all bad," he said softly.

She placed a chaste kiss on his lips in reply. "No, can't say it was."

The door opened and John peered in. "They're waiting," he said with a grin. "Ready to go?"

"How many are there?" Tosh asked.

John rolled his eyes and shrugged casually. "Oh, just every damn newspaper that has a say in the UK. I'm good at my job, thank you very much. Britain's most loved sci-fi show next to _Doctor Who_ returns to the screens after years of absence. It's a big story."

Owen grumbled, "I hate press conferences."

Tosh pulled him to his feet. "No, you don't." With that, she led him out of the room, Gwen on their heels, still busy texting Rhys.

John looked at Jack and Ianto and gave short nod, smiling gently, before he followed them. Jack held out a hand to Ianto, pulling him close to kiss his lips. "Ready?"

Ianto smiled. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Jack expected Ianto to let go of his hand as soon as they entered the room where the press conference was taking place.

But he didn't.

So Jack held on as well.

END

10/14


End file.
